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Strange Bedfellows	By : stellabomb Category: +. to F > Fairy Tail Views: 9473 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail and am not making any money off of this work.

Chapter List
- 5
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Chapter 6: Slightest Hope

Lucy had just returned from completing a simple job and was planning on meeting with Sting after she claimed her jewels. She barely sat down to speak with Mirajane when Erza burst into the main room of the guild hall.

"LUCY!" Erza said as she frantically made her way to Lucy. "We need to go to 8-Island."

Before Lucy could reply, Erza pulled the blonde mage out her chair and exited the building.

"Wait, Erza," Lucy said struggling to to keep up. "What's going on?"

"It's Natsu and Sting," Erza replied. "They got into a fight. I think they were seriously trying to kill each other."

Lucy felt her insides sink with dread upon hearing the news. She had all sorts of bad thoughts and feelings over the situation. There weren't very many possibilities as to why they were fighting each other.

The two quickly ran over to the restaurant. By the time Lucy arrived, the fight was already over. 8-Island had already burned to the ground. The sides of the neighboring buildings were also damaged. Debris lay strewn about the streets, small fires were burning here and there.

A crowd gathered around the area. Some were onlookers, others were there to help, and still more were had been injured in the wake of the intense fighting. A few members of Fairy Tail were also there. Juvia and Gray were working on putting out the last of the flames. Wendy was assisting a grumpy Polyusica with healing some of the bystanders. Makarov and Yajima were speaking with city officials. Even a representative of the Magic Council was there.

Lucy could hear her some other guild mates murmur to one another about the fight.

"Natsu and that jerk from Sabertooth really went at it."

"I knew they didn't really like each other, but isn't this a bit much?"

"Why was the guy from Sabertooth is even here?"

Lucy looked at the commenters with apprehension. If the two dragon slayers were fighting over her, this kind of damage was not worth it. Not the destruction of property, nor the injuries to the bystanders. The dread Lucy was feeling sank a little deeper.

She searched around for the people in question. The two were laying in cots set off to the side, no one seemed to be paying them much attention even though they were the most severely injured. Lucy imagined it was because the two could stand more damage compared to the regular citizens. And maybe it was punishment for causing all the chaos.

The stellar mage let out a gasp when she got closer to them. Their bodies were dotted black and purple with bruises. Their faces were swollen almost beyond recognition. Bones were broken, Lucy knew. Around both of their chest areas and faces had jagged gashes caused by hard punching and kicking. Lucy noticed a few cleaner looking cuts, possibly caused by broken glass. Natsu had three puncture wounds on his chest, while Sting had two cuts around his throat. The cuts ran deep, Lucy could tell. Someone treated them only enough to stop the bleeding. They looked really bad, but Lucy knew they were going to survive.

Guilt was weighing heavily on her. Sting and Natsu caused the damage, she couldn't deny she was somehow involved if they were fighting over her. But what could she do? There was no way for her to foresee something like thishappening. The fight itself, maybe, but the extent to which the two of them lost control was an entirely different issue. She couldn't say much for Sting, but she knew Natsu hates hurting innocents.

Lucy closed her eyes.

Natsu… What were you thinking?

The fight between Sting and Natsu caused a small stir in the world of mages because they had put a number of non-mages in serious danger. The only saving grace was that Fairy Tail had a mostly good standing in the community due to the many good deeds guild members have done over the years. Members of Fairy Tail were also well connected. For instance, Yajima even convinced the owners of the buildings next to 8-Island to allow him to handle negotiating something to fix their properties, which made it easier for Fairy Tail to avoid serious punishment.

Fights and the destruction of property was not too uncommon in Magnolia, especially where Natsu was involved. But this issue was entirely different. Natsu wasn't destroying property because he got a little heated fighting off some bandit. This was a personal kind of anger and it was clear that with this kind of anger, Natsu was harder to control. The same could be said about Sting who was just as guilty in creating the destruction.

At the request of the Magic Council, Yajima facilitated a meeting along with Makarov and Jiemma, Sabertooth's guild master.

"This is ridiculous!" Jiemma said annoyed. "All this trouble for some trash mage like her. For some slut!"

Makarov glared at Jiemma. "Don't you dare say that about Lucy!"

"What? It's true! This fight was caused by some girl who doesn't know who she wants to spread her legs for! Maybe she's doing it for both of them!"

Makarov couldn't take this anymore of this guy. He immediately began to grow in size, lifting a closed fist overhead to smash this guy like a goddamn bug.

"Makarov," said the quiet voice of Yajima.

Makarov returned back to his normal form, but only because it was Yajima. "Please, continue."

"It's not that I don't understand the passions of young men, but that fight was more violent than usual, even for Natsu," Yajima said. "Someone could have gotten killed. If it had been just another bar fight, I might have let it slide, but this time we'll need the responsible parties to pay for the damages."

Yajima looked to the two guild masters. Each one gave him a different expression.

"We don't have the money," Makarov said guiltily.

"Sabertoothisn't paying a dime. This is Sting's fault," Jiemma spat.

Sabertooth's master met with Sting in the hospital beforehand. It was not an amicable conversation. Not only had Sting shamed Sabertooth by consorting with a Fairy Tail whore, but that twerp had the nerve to talk back to Jiemma! Jiemma just wasn't in the mood.

Makarov and Yajima went on to discuss other options for repayment. Jiemma was not going to hear any of it. Not wanting to deal with any of this much longer, Jiemma stood and headed for the door. Sabertooth owe these people nothing.

"What about Sting?" Makarov asked.

"I don't need a piece of shit mage who spends time with Fairy Tail's whores!" Jiemma bellowed. "You can have him!"

Makarov shot an angry glance at Yajima, his eyes asking for permission to kick this guy's ass. Jiemma left the room, slamming his door on his way out.

"Sting is one of his strongest mages and he just abandons the kid over something small like this!" Makarov scoffed.

"What are you going to do, Makarov?"

"You need money to pay for the damages, right? Once the two of them heal, they can take on jobs to slowly pay you back."

"Does that include Sting?"

Makarov paused. "That includes Sting. I'm going to allow him access to the job boards," the master said. "He's a cocky little brat, but he's still a competent mage… If Lucy is bothering to be with him he can't be entirely bad."

Yajima looked at Makarov quietly. Allowing the two work for the repayment would indeed take care of the damages, but the conflict between the two dragon slayers is probably the bigger issue.

"What about the reason for their fight?"

Makarov sighed. He wasn't one to meddle in the personal lives of his guild members, but this is practically a political issue. "Natsu is dangerous when he can't control his emotions, especially when we're talking about emotions he doesn't understand… However, simply separating the two isn't a good long term solution. They need to resolvethis themselves." Makarov gave Yajima a plaintive look, almost as though he were apologizing in advance. "This may be the best opportunity for Natsu to grow emotionally. I don't think it ever occurred to him that anyone other than himself would take up Lucy's time. For now I'll leave them be and let them work it out. But just in case I'll have Erza keep an eye on them from a distance."

Yajima nodded at his friend.

Lucy immediately regretted the decision to go to the guild hall. The main floor went completely quiet as soon as she entered, everyone's eyes fixed on her. Lucy watched the faces of her comrades carefully to see if anyone had that disdainful expression where the words whore or slutwere just hanging on their lips. The blonde mage half expected that kind of reaction because she's been down this road before. A busty blonde like herself was an easy target for that kind of thing.

As she looked around the guild hall, there was none of the disgust she was half expecting. If anything, everyone was looking at her with curiosity. Lucy was a little relieved.

Lucy walked over to the bar where Mirajane was going about her business as normal. Everyone continued to stare at Lucy. Couldn't they at least try to hide the fact that they're staring? Lucy began to show sweat drops as the awkward silence grew longer. Lucy felt the instinct to flee, but how could she do that with everyone staring at her like that?

"LUCY HAS A BOYFRIEND!" came the sudden yell of Happy who was flying in circles above her. He had that goofy expression of his whenever he talked about these things.

The exseed's comment opened the floodgates to the questions everyone around her was holding in. Word got around regarding the fight. Everyone deduced very quickly that Lucy was at the heart of the conflict. Lucy only allowed herself to confirm that she has been seeing Sting since the Grand Magic Games, but they were not dating. She evaded the more specific questions. Thosedetails were things that the general Fairy Tail population did not need to know. It was an awkward and embarrassing moment, but it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. All this time, she'd been afraid that everyone would look down on her for seeing Sting. Surprisingly, she found that most people accepted it even though no one really approved that it was Sting in particular that she was seeing.

After the flurry of questions, Lucy sat down at her regular table feeling exhausted. Gray and Levy were already there, looking at her intently.

"Are you guys here for more juicy details as well?" Lucy sighed.

"No, it's not that," Gray said. "I'm just wondering why Sting of all people? I just don't see why you would want to be with him."

Levy nodded in agreement. "I'm also a little confused, Lu-chan. I thought you had a thing for Natsu."

Gray looked at both Lucy and Levy a little shocked. "You and… Natsu?"

Lucy only blushed. "I do…" she said weakly. "I mean I did… I mentioned it to him a few times, but it didn't seem like it would go anywhere… You know how dense he is." Lucy looked away. The burn of those encounters still hurt, just a little.

"That's why you started seeing Sting?" Gray asked.

"More or less," Lucy replied.

"Well, based on what happened, my guess is that Natsu got into a fight with Sting because he's jealous," Levy said. "That suggests that he has some romantic inclinations towards you."

Lucy looked at Levy, afraid to allow herself to be hopeful. The thought had occurred to her. Could it be that Natsu went into a jealous rage because he wanted her? He may not be able to respond to her consciously, but perhaps somewhere deep down inside of him, he felt the same for her as she did for him. Why else would he fight Sting so hard? Lucy didn't want to start thinking this way, but she couldn't help it. Her feelings for Natsu still lingered.

Gray watched to the two girls exchange words of support and encouragement. Honestly, Gray didn't think Natsu was the boyfriend type, not in the way most females wish for. But he had to admit things have been weird with Lucy and Natsu being apart so much. It's affecting the chemistry of the team, no matter how much Lucy tries to pretend.

"I can't say much about Natsu's feelings," Gray said to Lucy. "I can tell you that even before the fight, he's been out of it. We all could see that it was really affecting him."

Levy nodded in agreement. "At least go see him," Levy suggested.

Lucy looked at them for a moment. It has been a while since they talked properly…

Sting sat up in his bed staring out the window. During his meeting with Jiemma, he found that his guild master was intent on calling Lucy a whore and blaming everything on her. Sting surprised himself by shooting back at Jiemma with threats of leaving Sabertooth. Sting said he was too good for Sabertooth, but what he really meantwas for Jiemma to stop calling Lucy a whore. Jiemma was furious and kicked Sting out of the guild in a fit of rage.

Whatever. Sting didn't even like that guy, anyway.

Sting had just heard the news from Fairy Tail's master that he would have access to Fairy Tail's job board while working off his debt to 8-Island and the other victims. Makarov even offered to consider Sting a temporary member of the guild since Jiemma gave Sting the boot. At first, Sting laughed at the prospect stooping as low as joining Fairy Tail, but ultimately accepted access to the job pool because he didn't have many other options.

"Um…" said a young female voice. "Hello?"

Sting looked to the door. A young girl with black hair and brown eyes poked her head into his room.

"What," Sting asked rather brusquely. He was not particularly fond of younger people.

"Master Makarov asked me to help heal you," the girl asked meekly.

"Heal me? What for?"

"He said the sooner you're healed, the sooner you can start taking on jobs."

Sting only stared at her wondering if Makarov was being kind to him or if he just wanted the debt to be settled as soon as possible. Sting nodded. The girl sat down next to him and began the slow process of healing.

"I can only heal you enough so that you can move around, mostly the broken bones. You're still going to feel pain from the other wounds, so try not to exert yourself too much."

"Fine."

Ten minutes passed in silence. At least this girl was smart enough to keep quiet and work efficiently. He recognized her from the Games. She was also a dragon slayer.

"What's your name?" Sting asked suddenly, startling the girl.

"W-Wendy!" she stammered.

Sting became quiet again and stayed quiet. The awkward silence settled in again, but Sting didn't care.

"I…" Wendy said in a small voice. "I went to heal Natsu before I came here. He said Lucy is withyou."

Sting turned to the girl who was obviously intimidated by him.

"I always thought that Lucy really liked Natsu. Maybe even loved him… But if she's choosing to be with you…"

"If she's choosing to be with me…?" Sting was actually interested in what the girl had to say.

"…If she decided to be with Natsu, then I'm sure Natsu would have cherished her… I wonder if you…"

Wendy blushed, struggling to figure out what she was trying to say. Sting had a good idea, though.

"You're wondering if I'll take good care of her?" Sting asked.

It looked like the girl didn't know what she was trying to say. "Y-yes…" she said finally.

Sting thought about what he would tell this girl who obviously had hoped Lucy would end up with Natsu.

"How old are you?" Sting asked.

"13."

"Do you know how babies are made?"

Wendy blushed even deeper. "R-Roughly."

A small smirk graced Sting's face. "Lucy and I aren't together," he said. "Not in the way you think."

"Oh." The girl blushed. Her expression looked defeated.

"But I'll think about what you said."

The girl looked at him hopefully, continuing her work.

Lucy went to the hospital and took a seat next to Natsu, who was asleep. Lucy reached out to lightly trace over the bandage that covered the puncture wounds on his chest. Wendy told Lucy that both Sting and Natsu received the same kind of treatment: broken bones were healed first, cosmetic changes to the face such as healing the cuts and bruises Neither are completely healed, though. The puncture wounds, for instance, were stitched up manually and would have to heal on their own. Wendy also said she could probably make the scars go away, though it won't change that the fight occurred.

The stellar spirit mage went over in her mind again and again what could have happened that caused that fight. In her heart of hearts, she wondered if perhaps Natsu's feelings were beginning to change.

Natsu began to stir.

"Lucy…" Natsu said drowsily without opening his eyes. He could tell it was her by her scent: mostly fruity, very little rum.

"Shh..." Lucy said gently. "You need to rest."

Natsu tried to move, but winced upon realizing he was still injured. He relaxed again.

"I missed you," he said in a tone of voice that Lucy never heard before.

Lucy sat on the chair by Natsu's bedside. She reached out for his hand, this time he held onto it.

You idiot, she thought.

From across the hall, Sting saw a flash of blonde hair enter Natsu's room. Without realizing it, he watched with narrow eyes, a growl forming in his throat.

Comments: Not much going on in this chapter. I'm getting there, though. Thanks everyone for reading and review. The response to this story has been lovely!
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Strange Bedfellows