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Strange Bedfellows	By : stellabomb Category: +. to F > Fairy Tail Views: 9474 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail and am not making any money off of this work.

Chapter List
- 12
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Chapter 13: Memories of Her

Sting woke up from his state of unconsciousness to the sight of Tilus standing above him malevolently. A vague smile crept about Tilus' lips as it looked at Sting with its pitch black eyes.

"What do you want?" Sting asked bitterly.

Sting stood up, surprised by the slightest bit of resistance from his own body. Tilus said nothing. It continued to watch Sting intently. Images of Lucy flashed suddenly through his mind, catching Sting off guard. Though Tilus continued to do nothing but look at Sting, Sting felt his frustration mount, though it was unclear even to Sting why he was frustrated.

"Do you understand the nature of this world?" Tilus asked, its dual voice echoing in the sky, though its mouths didn't move. "The connection between your emotions and your physical state is strong. Stronger, even, than your two companions."

More flashes of Lucy forced their way into Sting's mind. Images of the recent past. Sting with Lucy, Lucy standing alone, Lucy speaking to Natsu...

"I'll ask you again, what do you want?" Sting asked feeling all the more agitated.

"Emotions that go on unchecked can be the most dangerous..." Tilus said. "You may not acknowledge them, but I can clearly see it."

Sting did not like the look on Tilus' face: all-knowing and in control. The images of Lucy began to break into fragments of actual memories. Was this Tilus' doing? Sting wasn't sure what Tilus was capable of, but he could tell that Tilus was powerful, especially in this world.

"It's in your facial expressions..."

Tilus didn't move, but Sting could feel the being's presence coming closer to him. Images of Lucy flashed in his mind again. She was wearing a red dress... Sting backed away, feeling physically heavy as he did so. Sting got an unpleasant feeling being near this deity. The way its pitch black eyes gazed at him made him feel like it knew everything about him. Though Tilus hadn't moved in all this time, Sting was overcome with a sense of danger. And he didn't like it. Reactively, Sting dashed forward to strike at Tilus, but his movements felt heavy, like he was being weighed down.

"It's in your body language..."

Spider webs shot at Sting from all directions, wrapping around his limbs, neck, and torso. …Sting could see Lucy dancing among a crowd... Feeling acutely frustrated, Sting swung his arms and legs wildly, trying to break free of the webs. His movements caused the webs to wind so tightly around him that it shredded through his shirt and into his skin. Tiny streams of blood emerged from the cuts. His body stopped moving. He was exhausted. The tightness of the webs felt like any further movement would cause the strands to slice his body into one hundred different pieces. Sting collapsed to his knees with the webs holding his upper body up. He looked up at Tilus, who had barely moved from its spot.

"And it's in your memories..." Tilus said, drawing Sting's gaze into its eyes.

Tilus eyes widened. The blackness of Tilus' eyes expanded, covering the whites of its eyes and eventually into Sting consciousness. Tilus arms extended around him, webs shooting out. Images and fragments of his memories came at him like a whirlwind. Tired, weak, and held down by a flurry of emotions, Sting could feel Tilus penetrating his mind, reaching for his memories. He could already smell the scent of alcohol in the musty air of the club...

Crocus had a number of inns, a handful of standalone bars, but only one club. It wasn't a great looking place, but there were booths for sitting, a well manned bar, and arguably the best music selection in all of Fiore. The first floor housed the main bar, a few regular booths, and the largest dance floor. The second floor had mainly VIP booths and a smaller bar.

As a repeat winner of the Grand Magic Games, Sting and other members of Sabertooth were entitled to free access to the second floor and all the drinks he could ever want. Sting had been hanging around on the second floor in a VIP booth for the past few hours. Rogue, Frosh, and Lector were with him, but they left after just an hour. Sting, not wanting to return to the inn quite yet, stayed for a while longer. He wanted to finish a few more drinks first.

Sitting alone, it didn't take Sting long to feel bored and perhaps a little restless. He was buzzed, but with Rogue gone, that light feeling didn't seem to matter. Halfway through his drink, he leaned over to peer at the dance area on the first floor. It was crowded that night, but it wasn't hard to spot her among the anonymous faces of less interesting people.

He could identify her by her features: blonde hair, brilliant brown eyes. As far as Sting could tell, she was on her "A" game that night. She was gorgeous with her tight, deep red dress, matching heels, and a light layer of makeup. Men around her looked at her with appreciative eyes, which she was aware of, but she didn't seem to care about. The men on the first floor were hardly worth her time, Sting thought amused. After watching her for a few moments, it crossed his mind that he was worth her time. The more Sting thought about it, the more he began liking the idea. He made his way down.

Some of the other women on the dance floor gave him a few appreciative glances. A few even turned towards him in an attempt to dance with him, but he gave each of them a dismissive pat on the shoulder, letting them know he was moving on.

Sting made it to her. He noted that Natsu was decidedly absent.

"I like the way you dance," he said, deepening his voice just a little bit.

She said something to him, though he wasn't listening. He just watched her, eyes fixed on her as she moved to the music. The alcohol lingering in his body let him cut loose a little bit. He started dancing. She didn't quite look at him the way the other women did, but she started moving with him, in response to him. He in turn was responding to her body movements. She danced flirtatious and he found her all the more enticing. He let her know that he was into her and he didn't let her go if he could help it. She didn't try to leave.

Following the last song, the owners gave the patrons a twenty minute warning. She sighed audibly. She walked over to a column, leaned her back against it, sliding her body down to the ground so that she could sit. Sting watched her as she sat there for a long time. She somehow looked a little defeated.

"Hey," Sting said. "At least sit on a seat."

"It doesn't really matter, this place is going to close in a few minutes," she said tiredly.

Sting watched her close her eyes. He could tell she was tired, but she didn't look like she wanted to leave.

"Got nowhere to go? Geez, is Fairy Tail that cheap?"

"I've got a room to sleep in, for your information," she said slightly annoyed. "I just don't want to go back there."

"Is that so?" Sting said questioningly. "So what are you going to do?"

"I dunno, wander around until morning?"

Sting snorted in response, but he realized that she wasn't necessarily joking. "You're serious, aren't you?"

She didn't say or do anything in response. She looked like she just wanted to sleep anywhere but Fairy Tail's inn.

"Come with me, then," Sting said, surprising himself for suggesting it on instinct. He pulled her up by the arm. She stood up with wobbly legs, looking at him closely. She squinted her eyes at him as though she were trying to figure something out.

"What?" Sting asked.

"... Nothing," she answered.

"The inn I'm staying at is on the other side of town," Sting said. "You can rest there for the night."

"Why would I want to go with you?"

"Because I'm strong, handsome, and from the strongest guild in Fiore."

She scoffed out a laugh in response. "I know some people who would say otherwise."

"You're telling me there's someone stronger and more handsome than me?" Sting said jokingly.

"Fairy Tail is the strongest guild in Fiore," she stated.

Sting decided not to get into with Lucy about their guilds. She was obviously too tired and still a little tipsy. The owners started telling people to leave. He tugged at her to indicate that they were going outside, but she wasn't moving.

"Hey, we need to leav-"

"Do you even know my name?" she asked suddenly.

Sting paused. For some reason he was caught off guard by that question. "Of course I do."

"It's Lucy," she said. "I want to be sure that you at least know my name."

Sting looked at her for a moment before guiding her towards the door again. "My inn is on the other side of Crocus," Sting said. "Everyone in Sabertooth is probably asleep right now, so no one is going to know you came by."

Lucy didn't seem to care either way. She just wanted to stay away from Honeybone and get some sleep.

Sting hailed a carriage to take them to his inn. Lucy slept through the ride. Sabertooth's inn was located on a narrow back road that most carriages couldn't roll through, so there was about a ten minute walk from where they were dropped off on the main road. Sting had Lucy lean on him for support as he paid the carriage. He moved towards the direction of the inn, but found that Lucy was unwilling to move with her feet.

"Give me a break," Sting said, rolling his eyes. Sting hoisted her up onto his back and began walking the short distance back to his inn. Lucy barely held onto him as he walked, but at least she wasn't too heavy.

The smell of earthened fruit came wafting towards Sting's nose. He hadn't noticed in the smoky, sweaty club, but Lucy's scent was really pleasant.

When they arrived at the inn, Sting stopped by the check in desk to request a room with a larger bed. His current room had a twin sized bed and a couch, but he hated sleeping on couches. If Lucy didn't like that they were going to share a bed, she could sleep on the couch. Or she can leave.

Sting carried her to the room and laid her on the bed. He removed her shoes before covering her with the blanket. Lucy groaned, but seemed to appreciate having soft to lay on. Sting sat next to her on the bed, examining her her face closely. Funny how he kept bumping into her. Sure, he was following her a little bit when they met at the library... But it was pure coincidence that he saw her at the club. Lucy acts annoyed initially, but somehow Sting didn't feel like she hated him.

Sting removed his shirt as he preferred to sleep without a shirt on. As he got into the bed he noted how much warmer it felt with another body there. It was kind of comfortable. Sting fell asleep.

Thirty minutes later he woke up to the feel of Lucy tossing and turning next to him. He could tell she was restless. Based on her constant sighing, she obviously had something on her mind.

"What's wrong?" Sting asked. "I can't sleep with you moving around like that."

There was a long pause. Lucy was thinking of a response.

"It's Natsu," Lucy said. "I think he dumped me."

"You guys were together?"

"No," Lucy said. "But I really like him. I've dropped hints before. I even told him directly that I wanted to be his girlfriend, but he doesn't seem interested."

"That's too bad."

"It is. I came out with Cana to get my mind off of him, but here I am talking about him with stranger," Lucy laughed.

"You kind of know me. We talked at the library."

"I just know your name, the guild you came from, and that Fairy Tail and Sabertooth don't really mix."

"But here you are."

"Here I am," Lucy said with a defeated smile.

Sting was wide awake now. As far as he could tell, so was Lucy. He got out of bed and pulled out a bottle of wine.

"You sound like you could use a cup or two," he said gesturing to the bottle.

"Maybe," Lucy said sitting up accepting a cup as he sat next to her with a cup of his own.

"So what about you?" Lucy asked, her head tilting in curiosity. "Girlfriend?"

"None," Sting said. "Girls come and go, but I don't tend to settle down."

"Figures."

Lucy took a sip from her wine glass. It was emptying out faster than she realized. It wasn't that long before she was pouring herself more.

"Whatever it is that you're assuming about me is wrong," Sting said, not surprised by Lucy's response.

"Aren't you being a little defensive?" Lucy asked, swirling the red liquid in her glass around.

"Most girls have weird expectations about relationships. Say what you will about Fairy Tail, but I'm part of what's considered the strongest guild in in Fiore and I work damn hard for that spot. Ordinary girls don't understand that. They get mad once they realize I don't have that much time to devote to them. Then leave eventually."

"How do you know you're not wrong? Maybe you weren't spending enough time with them."

"Could be, but the girls we're talking about left before we could work it out," Sting said drinking from his wine glass.

Lucy didn't look at Sting, but he could tell that she was thinking about what he said.

"Guess I don't know that much about you," Lucy admitted.

"No, you don't," Sting confirmed. "Most of them were trash, anyway."

Lucy couldn't help but laugh. She put down her glass so she could pour herself more wine. They drank in silence, but they were okay with that. Talking wasn't the point. Sting lost count on how many cups each of them had.

"Am I wrong for being mad at Natsu for not understanding I want more from him?" Lucy asked suddenly. "I've been thinking about this... I want to have sex sometimes, dammit! I'm a healthy, young woman and I think I look pretty good. Am I just not good enough to get his hormones going?"

"With breasts as large as yours, I don't see how that can be possible."

"Gee, thanks," Lucy hung head, which eventually rolled onto Sting's shoulder. "I can't believe I'm telling you all of this. It could just be the wine talking... And maybe..." Lucy sighed. "Maybe I just don't care tonight."

Sting pour each of them another glass of the wine from the now empty bottle. They clinked their glasses against each other in honor of the failures of romantic relationships. Lucy seemed to be in a slightly better mood.

"Do you want have sex with me, then?" Sting asked.

"What?!" Lucy said.

"You heard me," Sting said. "I'm a healthy and handsome young man. I've got no girlfriend, you've got no boyfriend. It doesn't have to be complicated. We don't have to call it comfort sex or pity sex. We can just call it sex. You might forget about Natsu and we both end up feeling good."

"That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard," Lucy said laughing. "I'm almost interested."

Sting could see that Lucy surprised herself by what she just said, but she didn't take it back. Sting himself was pretty surprised. He didn't intend on having sex with Lucy when he brought her in... He wasn't sure what he was intending, really. Things are coming out of his mouth before he could think about it. He wouldn't be surprised if Lucy decided to leave right then.

Lucy just looked at him in a way that he wasn't used to. It didn't seem like she was looking at an idealized image of him. She wasn't looking at him as THE Sting Eucliffe, one of the strongest mages of the strongest guild, Sabertooth. She was looking at him the way an ordinary woman would like at an ordinary man. Without the pretenses, Sting almost felt vulnerable.

"Just tonight, then," Lucy said in a whisper. "Only because I don't care tonight."

She leaned in and kissed him.

Sting found himself wrapped tightly in a number of Tilus' arms. The webs that wrapped around Sting's body connected back to Tilus. Glowing, the webs were draining Sting of his energy through his memories. Sting was forced to relive those memories of Lucy. All the associated emotions that he spent a lot of time denying came flooding through him with such force that he felt physically weak from the weight of it.

That night when he brought her back from the club, she opened up to him when she started talking about Natsu. Sting didn't do or say much in return, but it seemed like just being there and listening helped her feel a little better. And oddly enough, Sting felt good about it. Coming from a guild where friendship meant nothing compared to the strength of its individual members, it was refreshing to be depended on, even if it was for a brief moment.

He found himself seeking her out more. Sure, there was a lot of physical attraction going on, but somewhere in the back of his mind Sting actually liked Lucy. He liked being with her. If she just wanted to to get together just for sex, he was okay with that because he got to be with her. He just ran with it.

Then Natsu started responding to Lucy's feelings. Lucy started spending more time with Natsu again while avoiding Sting. When Lucy refused to sleep with Sting, Sting realized how weak his relationship to her actually was. Compared to the history and connection that existed between Lucy and Natsu, Sting had very little with Lucy. Compared to the look in her eyes when she gazed at Natsu, the looks she gave to Sting were nothing. As far as Lucy was concerned, what they did have was mostly physical. Nothing more, nothing less.

But again, Sting just ran with it. Whatever yearning, affection, trust, companionship, disappointment, hurt, sadness that would have come to Sting if he did try to get with her never came to pass. He told himself and everyone else who asked that their arrangement had no strings attached. He didn't expect or want more from Lucy any more than what Lucy expected or wanted from him. That's what he told himself and eventually he believed it.

Tilus' words echoed in Sting's mind: Emotions that go on unchecked can be the most dangerous...

Who was he kidding? He wanted her. He wanted all of her. He wanted every inch of her body to belonged to him. He wanted her smiles, her pouts, her tears. He wanted her to laugh with him, to banter with him, to argue with him. He wanted her to show him everything about her because if he had the chance, he would become addicted to her. Sting knew he probably wouldn't cherish Lucy the way Natsu would. But Sting wasn't Natsu. Whatever relationship he would have with Lucy would be different. And who knows? Maybe it would be better.

He may not have that chance, though. All those emotions he wasn't going to risk feeling-yearning, affection, trust, companionship, disappointment, hurt, sadness-was hitting him hard now and he was too weak to fight them off. Sting could feel Tilus' grip around him tighten. His energy was drained. He had very little strength left. He was hardly able to put up a fight... Is this how Tilus does it? Target the people who don't know how to deal with their emotions and strike them when they're weakest? Sting could feel himself beginning to lose consciousness...

Was this the end?

Sting closed his eyes. He could hear Lucy's voice calling out to through the distance. Another dream? A memory? Everything was going black again.

Comments: These last few chapters are the hardest ones to write. I'm still not sure if I got this one right. Hope you enjoyed this one. One more chapter to go!
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Strange Bedfellows