She longed to learn who she was and only he had the answer. Problem? He was in Sabertooth and she was in Fairy Tail, two rival guilds. On the road to get answers, she finds herself falling for his partner. [StingxOC] [RoYu] [NaLu] Other pairings inside.
The Shadow's Light
Sting X Nina (OC)
A Big Step Forward
A few days after the end of the War on Tartaros, Nina relaxed on a chair while she read the book. She still wondered what power Skiadrium gave her when he finally passed on, which prompted her research to begin with. The entire time since she started, she rarely left either her room or the library except to go on jobs. Her mind tried to figure it out, but it gave her a headache. She smelt Rogue before he even entered the room, knowing Sting and Yukino were right behind him.
"Lita. Take a break before you pass out." Rogue warned. It was the tone that he used a lot in their childhood: he was ordering her to listen rather than asking.
"Fiiine. I was getting a headache anyhow." She sighed and put the book back.
"Wow. You actually won against her... Amazing." Sting chuckled as she furrowed her eyebrows at his comment.
"I'm not that stubborn... Am I?" She asked to the three heads nodding in a 'yes', making her huff. "Well, I kinda grew up in the most stubborn guild, so it was inevitable. So, besides getting me out of there, what else is goin on?"
Yukino laughed and gave her an envelope. "This came for you."
"And it required all three of ya?" She asked with a smirk as she took it to see it was from Erza, of all people. She knew of the disbandment of Fairy Tail after Tartaros, with Laxus and the Thunder Legion joining Sabertooth because of Laxus wanting to be with her for the remainder of the disbandment. She was still upset about the whole thing, but wondered if Makarov had a good reason for it. Opening the letter, she had to grin at how her friend got better at writing. "Apparently Erza wanted to talk to you, Sting, for some reason."
"Huh. What I do now?" He asked.
"Dunno. She said she'd meet you on the outside of town... And you apparently need to meet her alone... To be honest, she doesn't seem angry in this, but she was always a terrible writer." Nina said, scanning the letter and spun to avoid bumping into a guildmate before seeing Laxus arriving. "Ah, you're back!"
"Yeah. Saw Erza outside of town for some reason. She looked serious... More so than ever." Laxus explained, looking at Sting. "Better go see her and not make her wait."
Evergreen laughed softly. "Titania hates waiting some days."
Sting gulped before sighing. "Well, wish me luck." He said, kissing her cheek and heading out.
Nina sighed and wondered what Erza wanted to talk to Sting about and it bugged her. "What could she really want? She already threatened him enough before we mated..."
Laxus looked like he knew, but refused to speak. "Who knows with her? She's always been this way, remember."
Nina puffed her cheeks out in annoyance. She hated not knowing things and sometimes secrets were her one pet peeve, but she eventually gave up on most. "Oh well. Erza won't kill him, considering she knows that would destroy me, too."
Yukino nodded and smiled. "I suppose that's a good thing about that part, huh?"
She laughed at both Laxus's and Rogue's faces at the comment. "Yeah, it is." She then smirked. "Speaking... Can ya tell how Mira's doing, Lax?"
That got the Lightning Dragon Slayer to actually blush a bit at the mention of the She Devil. Not long after the Grand Magic Games, while she was in Sabertooth, Laxus finally got around to mating with Mirajane, saying she waited enough. When Mira contacted her via lacrima with the announcement, Nina had been over the moon for her new adoptive sister-in-law. "She's doin fine."
"I told her that we could help her and the others... Shot me down right away..." Nina pouted. It made sense now, why have her Fairy Tail family join Sabertooth when they had their own lives? She kept in contact with Lucy, who apparently was upset that Natsu up and left after Tartaros. But, she knew he was training, not wanting to break her promise to the Fire Dragon Slayer, despite Lucy also being her friend. She grinned and elbowed Laxus. "I could use her mate's help, ya know~"
"Nope. She's good where she is. I ain't gonna sleep on a couch for arguing with her." Laxus stated.
Nina raised her eyebrows as she and Yukino both started laughing. "She does that too? Man, we ladies are amazing!"
"Who knew the big bad Dragon Slayer men were scared of us?" Yukino questioned. "I understand Sting being afraid of you, Nina, considering you are also a Dragon Slayer, but me and Mirajane? We're just normal Mages."
Nina sighed with a grin. "Yeah, but Mira's also a Take Over Mage with Satin Soul and you're a Celestial Mage. I would hate to see Lucy really angry at Natsu... If he ever mans up and finally mates with her!" She growled at the idea that he was so dense when it came to his own instincts when others, such as Wendy, knew better than him. And Wendy wasn't even close to getting a mate of her own, probably a good long while before she even thinks of one.
"Calm down, Lita... Just because Natsu's dense, doesn't mean he doesn't feel anything for her." Rogue warned.
Nina nodded and waved at Minerva, who started to wave before noticing Laxus and stopped immediately, avoiding her eyes. "Laxus, stop it!" She scolded. He huffed and uncrossed his arms, staring at her before heading somewhere else. She grimaced and went over to the Spacial Mage. "Sorry about Laxus, Minerva..."
"It's alright... He has every right to not trust me..." Minerva stated.
Nina thought back on when Laxus woke up the day after the war on Tartaros and saw Minerva behind her afterwards.
Nina bit her lip in worry, which was slightly helped by Sting rubbing her arm soothingly while Rogue shared her worry, considering that the man currently in the bed had been her brother for so long before he entered her life again. After Minerva returned to Sabertooth, everyone was so happy that they threw a party like Fairy Tail used to when they found Lisanna had been alive. She watched the Spacial Mage slowly warm up to the idea of having a family and friends that cared for her rather than hated and were afraid of her. The Spacial Mage had apologized to Erza during the war and Erza had forgiven her due to understanding her more.
"He'll be fine... He's Laxus for a reason." Mirajane stated, holding her mate's hand softly with one hand while the other brushed through his hair gently.
"She's right, Lita. He did fight against Tartaros despite being in bad shape." Rogue reminded.
"Exactly. The big guy's gonna be up before you know it." Sting added.
She had to smile at the praise as, a few minutes later, true to their words, Laxus stirred awake and got into a leaning position so he wasn't flat on his back. "Laxus!"
"Hey... I see you're doin fine." Laxus said, nodding at Rogue and Sting. "Proud of ya guys. You actually held up your promise." He then flipped his hand to hold Mira's. "How'd it go?"
"We won..." Nina stated. "Well, Fairy Tail did... All we in Sabertooth did was fight the old master." She informed.
"I always thought I smelt that asshole's scent... No offense."
Sting snorted. "You said it, not me."
Nina rolled her eyes and placed a hand on her adoptive borther's shoulder. "You had us worried for a bit there, bro... Especially me and Mira..." She eeped when Laxus brought both her and Mira into a hug, something he hasn't done since Tenrou. "L...Lax?"
"I... I'm pathetic..."
"Eh? Wh-why do ya say that?" Nina asked.
"I'm not strong enough to protect the people I love yet..." He allowed Nina to get out but kept Mira by his side. "Especially my own mate, I can't even do my own job."
Nina smiled sadly. "If that's how you think, then you're wrong... You did help out in the end. And just look forward instead of focusing on mistakes. I'm sure Mira agrees."
"She's right, dear... Just look at the future, where you can get better." Mira added as the door opened. "Oh, another visitor for you, Hero."
Nina, unfortunately, knew long before her footsteps entered. She had sent Minerva to get some more water in case Laxus got thirsty and wasn't expecting her to arrive when she did. Biting her lip, she frowned. "Now... Lax..."
"What. Is. That. Bitch. Doing here?" He said slowly as his glare grew murderous at the woman.
"L-Listen, she's good now... And she..."
"I can't believe she has the nerve to show her face after everything she did... She tortured you and kidnapped you during the final day of the Games. The image of your broken body will never leave my mind and the anger towards her will never leave." He stated, not once moving his glare from Minerva.
The mention of that made her shudder, but she met his gaze with her own. "I know that... But Gramps always told me to give people second chances, even those that have hurt me. Look at Gajeel... He did the same thing and he's now one of my sworn brothers. And... Well..." She didn't need to remind him of when he went power-hungry to 'protect her' from 'weaklings'. "There was also Lyon, who literally turned me into an ice sculpture, but now he's a good friend."
Mira nodded. "She's right, Hero..."
Laxus looked between the three women before glancing at the other two Slayers. "You two... Do ya trust that witch?"
"Kinda? Well, she did save Nina from Jiemma when we were too frozen with fear." Sting admitted. "She knows I'm still pissed too, but she's got a rather stubborn defender on her side." He motioned to Nina.
Laxus looked at Rogue finally, who shrugged. "I'm in the same boat as you, Laxus... I still get angry when I see that image, too. But, Nina's very adamant about her place."
"Besides, I'm not that little girl that was found by Gildarts... I can make my own decisions..." Nina stated.
He then looked at the very nervous and scared woman at the door before he sighed. "If you say so... I still won't trust her enough, but she has to earn it, first."
"That's all I want... And... For you to listen to her first." Nina reasoned.
"Tch... Fine... Let her speak and I'll see." Laxus said.
Nina went to the woman's side and gently took her hand before nodding. Minerva gulped as she slowly stood to her full height. "I'm no good with... apologies... But... I regret all my actions towards Nina and am well aware that will never make up for my actions. I have no excuse for my actions other than it was how I was raised... I know that's no excuse and I should've known better... But, Titania made me realize, when she defeated me, that 'family' was a power I never knew existed..." She frowned. "When I lost to Titania, it was the first time in my life I ever felt an emotion other than 'pride'."
That made Nina place a comforting hand on her arm, letting her know she was going to take over so Minerva can take a breather. "Unlike those in Fairy Tail... Jiemma made a guild without that bond, wanting power instead of friends... He went even beyond that to a point he neglected Minerva the moment she cried." She went on to explain other things before letting Minerva take over once she had time to collect herself.
After the two finished, Laxus was quiet for a bit before he sighed. "Alright... I will trust her, but forgiveness to me, you know, is another story..."
Minerva had a very small smile. "It's enough that you gave me a chance to try to atone by explaining myself. It also took Nina to convince Titania herself."
Mira giggled softly. "I suppose Nina gained that from growing up around not only Laxus, but Makarov himself. They're extremely stubborn, as you probably realized."
Not long after that, Laxus was released and decided to come with to Sabertooth, to add to the 'family' that was slowly getting used to being that.
She shook her head and smiled. "It'll take a lot of time... But once he's on your side, it'll be worth it. He's still trying to forgive himself, too."
Rogue blinked. "You alluded to that back then... What exactly happened?"
I really have bad ADD! I skip around so much that I forget so many things important! And, yes... Instead of Blue Pegasus, Laxus and Thunder Legion join Sabertooth because of Nina~
~~Kiwi~~