A/N: This is my first story in this particular fandom. So, a little heads up, X784 is one year after Lucy had run away from home (as stated in FT wikia). Hargeon is also the town where Lucy meets Natsu and later joins Fairy Tail. Hopefully everything will turn out as epic as I imagined in my head and cause all those hardcore NaLu fans to sit back in awe :3

Genres: This story also consists of Friendship, Family, Humor, Drama, & Adventure

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does.

LIGHT CASTS A SHADOW

✧. Arc 1 - [Sting]

Chapter 1: FATEFUL ENCOUNTER

Sting sighed. He was lost again. The twelve-year old stared at the unfamiliar buildings around him. Flowers of vibrant colors bloomed in the town square, their petals flowing gently in the wind. A horde of seagulls flew above the glistening blue sea, distantly squawking in the horizon. The sounds of children laughing and splashing in a fountain of water drifted around him, causing him to scowl. Ignorance really was bliss.

How long had he'd been at it again? The year was X784, and somehow he ended up in Hargeon, the port town. He'd been wandering for ages, with no real goal or destination in mind. He was still numb from trying to forget the incident from years ago. No, he wasn't allowed to forget. His dragon taught him better than that, but he still had constant nightmares of trying to wash away the forsaken red stains off his hands that just wouldn't go away and— 'No, don't think about it.' He thought to himself, wincing at the repressed memory.

Sting wandered into a dark alleyway like a lost soul, bumping into a small group of shady men. They sneered at him, but Sting paid it no mind. Most people would glance at his dirty little getup and leave him alone. He shrugged off their glares, but paused at the sight of them towering over a wounded red cat. Sting had no idea what the hell he was thinking, but he shoved the man that was dangling the cat by its tail, causing him to drop the small red feline.

Sting wasn't sure if his eyes were playing tricks on him, but the kitten quickly scampered away from the alley on two feet, sending him a surprised and wary look of thanks. Sting was about to bolt right after, but a pair of strong hands gripping onto his scrawny shoulders prevented his escape.

"Look boys, he's trying to get away." One of them chuckled darkly, making the others snicker the same way. "I think we caught ourselves a little hero."

"Oh yeah, I think you're right!" They laughed. "That cat tried to steal our stuff, but it served as a nice little punching bag!"

"This kid would make a better replacement, don't cha think?"

Sting openly looked at them with disgust as they crowded around him.

The man's callused fingers dug into his skin as the leader stalked towards him. He crouched down and propped up Sting's chin, staring into his defiant cobalt gaze. "You know, we might be willing to let you go." He grinned menacingly, eagerly savoring the boy's reaction. "That is...if you get down on your hands and knees and beg for your pathetic life!"

Sting felt his ego take a blow and flare up at those words. He already knew all of that, that his life was pathetic. He was painfully aware that it was laughingly so. He could handle their thinly veiled threats and douchebag smugness, but to get down on his hands and knees and beg for mercy to this lousy piece of scum...he would never apologize to trash like this, especially for his own godawful life.

Never.

Sting spat directly into his face.

He would have laughed at the sight of the leader's face turning hilariously red like a tomato, but he was suddenly kicked into the wall. His back landed against the stony rough edges, and he slumped to the ground in a sitting position. The man directly lodged his foot into the wall, roughly missing the boy's face by a few inches. "No one messes with the Bacchus Thieves Guild and gets away from it!" He hissed.

The delinquents cracked their knuckles when the young orphan refused to even acknowledge them, or show any signs of fear. Sting helplessly stared at the ground as they started ganging up on him and beating him to a pulp. They mercilessly kicked him in the gut, taking turns to make empty death threats every three seconds.

The leader positioned his foot atop of Sting's head, "What's the matter kid?" He mocked, "Aren't you gonna cry?"

"Tch." Sting clicked his tongue. His pride would never allow it.

"You're starting to piss me off, kid." He slowly applied pressure to his foot. It infuriated the band of thugs even more when the kid refused to show any signs of his obvious pain.

Sting merely closed his eyes and waited for them to stop. He could easily fend them off, but he vowed never to use his magic to hurt others again. Ever since the day he parted with his dragon, it was just too painful… Suddenly, a young teenager came out of nowhere. She wore light traveling clothes and a short blue skirt stopping at her mid-thighs. Her blonde hair was tied into a side ponytail, pinned down by a blue ribbon. She waved a small golden key in the air, and chanted.

"Open—Gate of the Giant Crab: Cancer!"

A ding-dong noise resounded and a humanoid crab appeared from a magic circle. "How would you like your hair done today-ebi?" The crab snipped with a pair of scissors in each hand.

The thugs released Sting in shock and stared at the crab dumbfounded. Sting couldn't believe his eyes as well. 'What the hell is that girl doing?' He looked at her face, expecting to see a frightened expression, but was surprised to see her look so calm. Also, did that crab seriously just say 'ebi'?

The blonde teen sighed, "Cancer, we're in a middle of a fight. Make those jerks lose their dignity!"

"Okay-ebi." Cancer darted pass each of the thugs several times like a blur, and then dashed back to its owner.

The leader looked around trying to spot changes in the environment. He shrugged to his men, "Nothing happened—" Cancer snipped his scissors, and numerous tiny cuts appeared on each thug. What was even more eye-opening was that they were completely—

"BALD!" The grunts screeched. They squealed away in terror as they tried to cover their smooth, naked heads. The leader reached to feel his own luscious hair, only to have the same look on his face like the others. The blonde teen sprinted towards the large man.

"Lucy…" She muttered as she jumped high into the air, "KICK!"

She landed perfectly back onto her feet as he fell to the ground. She smiled back at her companion who nodded in return. "I shall take my leave-ebi." The crab disappeared.

Sting felt somewhat…warm when Lucy turned to look at him with a huge grin spread across her face. Sting finally took a good look at the girl and noticed that she was 4 or 5 years older than him. His eyes unconsciously shifted over to the fallen leader—his feet were stirring. A glint of light shined in his face as noticed a dangerous metal blade within the man's hand. The girl casually walked over to him, unaware of the danger.

"Are you okay—Kyaaaaaaaaaa!" Lucy screamed as the bald man grabbed her from behind. He wrapped his arms around the girl, with a dagger pointed directly at her neck. "You let your guard down!" he laughed maniacally.

Sting's body reacted by itself. Before he knew it, he rushed to the girl's side at the speed of light and launched himself at the bald man. Sting's hand blazed with a glowing, white aura and he slashed the leader with a luminous holy strike, "White Dragon's CLAW!" The man choked on the air and withdrew his vicious grip on the girl, losing consciousness.

"Are you okay? Were you hurt badly?"

Sting's eyes widened in shock when 'Blondie' ran up to him and examined his bruises. He felt the same weirdly warm sensation when she began feeling his wounds, but he kept to himself. He didn't trust anyone. He shoved her away forcefully, causing her to stagger backwards in surprise. She tripped on her own feet and stumbled into a puddle of muddy water.

Her butt crashed into the unforgiving wet pavement as mud splashed all over her outfit.

Lucy glared at him murderously, "You!"

Sting cringed a little and warily eyed the blonde girl a bit guiltily. Of course he didn't mean to, but no. He wouldn't apologize. Not for anything. "I didn't need your help."

Lucy stood up, completely drenched. Her white shirt was now stained with mud. "You ungrateful, little brat…! They were beating you up!" She pointed out the obvious, "You could seriously be injured! And now I'm all wet!"

"A strong mage like me wouldn't need help from a stupid blondie like you." He announced coldly.

He arrogantly walked away, leaving her behind to gape at him like a fish. He expected her to back off, until he felt someone roughly grab onto his hand. "Take me to your parents! You really need to learn how to treat other people with respect." She huffed angrily, "It's way too dangerous for a little kid to be wandering around by himself at this time!"

"I'm not a little kid," He muttered. He narrowed his eyes at her, "Let me go."

She gave him an incredulous look, "I'm not going to leave you by yourself, you moron! You could get attacked again, and you could still be injured-" Sting didn't know why, but he allowed the noisy girl pull him away as she continued to scold him on and on. She brushed some of the dirt off her skirt, "… Geez, this isn't going to come off easily… Say, where do you live?"

Sting uncomfortably looked away from her gaze, unsure of how to answer her question.

Lucy was soaking wet, cold, and tired. She was this close to losing her nonexistent patience, "Kid, I asked you a question!"

As if on cue, Sting's stomach growled loudly. She blinked in surprise, but he continued to look away, slightly embarrassed.

This didn't go unnoticed. Her anger instantly fading, Lucy paused to take a closer look at him — His uncombed spiky, blond hair jutted outward in every direction and the dirty T-shirt and torn pants he was wearing were falling apart. Feeling concerned, she looked deep into his ocean blue eyes and saw nothing. Nothing, as in a lifeless empty look. Now that she really thought about it, he really did look like a homeless kid.

"Are you hungry?" She decided to ask with a soother tone in her voice.

Sting pulled away from her, ignoring all of her questions. "Don't you dare pity me, you Stupid Blondie!" he angrily spat out, avoiding to see the look in her eyes.

Lucy was about to retort back, but she hesitantly closed her mouth. She took the boy's hand again, and gently led him across the town.

"Oi, Stupid Blondie... Let go of me." He murmured.

Lucy didn't make a noise. There was only the sound of their footsteps as they roamed endlessly throughout the town.

"Where are you taking me?" He steadily focused his gaze on the ground. The awkward silence was starting to get on his nerves. When she didn't answer, the eerie silence did nothing to alleviate the growing uneasiness and anxiety that welled within him. He stammered, "I-I swear, if you don't unhand me right now, I'll b-break your hand if I have to."

Lucy noticeably faltered for a second, but her reaction was all he needed to sense that she was genuinely upset by his response. "A little kid really shouldn't be saying those kinds of things..." She said sadly. She continued to gently lead him by the hand, standing up a bit straighter.

Following a stranger was probably the dumbest idea he ever had. No, scratch that, he's done worse. It didn't help that he could still remember the fond yet annoyingly overprotective tone of his dragon, warning him to never talk to strangers, let alone follow them. What could this girl possibly accomplish by dragging him around town? What was her motive? The whole thing just wasn't making sense and he had enough of this charade.

"Let go, you Stupid Blondie!" He yelled, trying to yank his hand away from her.

Lucy abruptly stopped, causing him to finally look up at her. She gazed at him with caring, brown eyes. "You don't have a home, do you?" She questioned. Sting gaped at her in shock and he stopped pulling his hand away. Her radiant smile eased him, "Don't worry, I've run away from home too."

The orphan blinked in surprise. "What?"

"You're not alone anymore." She smiled as she gently poked his little nose with her finger. A small pink tinge blushed onto the boy's pale cheeks.

Lucy laughed as his face reddened. "I have lots of leftovers back at my apartment. I might as well have you come over for dinner before the food goes bad. Besides, I still need to teach you how to treat others with respect." She winked.

Sting's eyes lit up at the mention of food, but she made him feel puzzled. Why was she being so nice to him? That smile of hers was probably as empty as him on the inside, but it's not like he had anything else left to lose. Torn between either running away or following her, her kindness greatly confused him, but... It couldn't hurt just to stay for a little bit, right? He could leave whenever he wanted to. "Whatever, Blondie." He rolled his eyes and tried to act annoyed.

Lucy smiled to herself, noticing that he dropped the 'Stupid'.

They walked into her small apartment and sat at the kitchen table. Lucy rummaged her fridge and gathered piles of food onto the table. Drool etched from the corner of the boy's mouth.

"Well?" She smiled teasingly, "Go ahead and dig in."

Sting didn't hesitate. He attacked the assorted pieces of meat right away, chewing on the meat with his canine-like teeth. He crammed handfuls of into his mouth aggressively, almost forgetting to swallow. Bits and pieces were flying everywhere as she softly reminded him to use the silverware. He avoided the vegetables like the plague, and it didn't take long to notice that the blonde mage was chuckling at him.

"What's so funny, Blondie?" He spat out with chicken sticking out of his mouth. He hated it when people were watching him, especially when he was eating. It felt like they were making fun of him.

"You're just so cute when you eat." She giggled.

Weak and innocent things, like small bunny rabbits, filled his mind. "I am NOT cute!" His lips tugged into a small pout. He was intrigued, stunned, and somewhat moved… No one had ever called him cute before.

Lucy laughed as his ears reddened, "So what's your name?"

Sting stared back at her with an impassive blue gaze. He specifically planned not to respond to any of her questions. He couldn't allow himself to feel so attached to someone who thought that he was cute. It would only stir up more trouble the longer he decided to stay with this troublesome Blondie.

He shook away his thoughts about her and gulped down his food. His gaze lowered towards the table and he mustered all of his willpower to concentrate on eating.

"My name is Lucy, by the way, so stop calling me Blondie. Don't you find it weird to call me 'Blondie', when you're blond too?"

The boy ignored her, but she continued asking more questions.

"When was the last time you ate?" She prodded carefully, "It's like you haven't eaten anything for days."

He tried not to flinch from her calculating gaze.

"May I ask where you are from?"

Sting faltered in his movements, his spoon momentarily halting in front of his face before putting it back down.

"And... what was that magic you used? I've never seen anything like it before."

He stared forlornly at his food, unwilling to meet her concerned gaze.

Realizing that she wouldn't get an answer from the seemingly arrogant boy, she let out a sigh. "I'm sorry, but did you run away too?" She asked cautiously, "As I mentioned earlier… I ran away from home. But, I'm old enough to take care of myself now, you see?" She crossed her arms and tilted her head, "It's just that… you're so young and you shouldn't be all alone by yourself at this age." She gave a guilty smile, "You should go back to your parents… They must be worried sick about you—"

"He's dead," Sting rose from his seat, his eyes shadowed by his messy blond hair. "I-I killed him."

That's it. I crossed the line...

Another dead-like silence bore between them. Before she even had the chance to speak, he ran over to the door and grabbed the handle. He was a coward. He just didn't have the courage to hear what she had to say. Before he could rush out the door, he saw Lucy run over to him. A wave of confusion washed over his body as the celestial mage wrapped her arms around him tightly.

His hand released the door handle as he stood there, shocked by her tears. 'She's not scared of me?' His mind raced with confusion.

"W-why…?"

"When I was younger, I used to think like that too…" She explained, "Ever since my mom died, I always thought that it was my fault… and I blamed myself for everything." Lucy clutched him even closer and they stared at each other face-to-face. "—but when I look at you… It's like looking at the Me from six years ago. You're not alone anymore!"

A new feeling awakened inside Sting. Something in him had clicked. After all those years of wandering alone in the dark, hunted by loneliness and guilt, he hadn't felt it in years. The empty void in his heart. Not filled by darkness—but from the warmth of kindness from others.

A tear trickled down his cheek, without realizing it. Lucy immediately released her hug and started pulling on the ends of her hair a bit sheepishly. She laughed nervously, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked about all of that."

'Why is she apologizing to me?' He smirked at the thought. He had been acting like a crude little jerk to her this entire time, and she was the one saying sorry? The whole conversation felt unusual and surreal. Then, the corners of his mouth started to twitch a little... "It's fine."

He genuinely smiled for what was probably the first time in years.

Lucy remembered that she had bought some old clothes that didn't fit her a long time ago. She rummaged her closet and found a white t-shirt, a sleeveless orange jacket, and some baggy pants. She caught the boy by surprise and tried to undress him. She lifted up his shirt, but he squirmed away defensively.

"H-hey!" He hugged himself, "I-I can change by myself!"

She burst in laughter as he blushed furiously. "It might be a little too big for you, but we'll get you some new clothes tomorrow in the morning."

Sting's face continued reddening, but stopped when he remembered that he couldn't allow himself to feel so attached. It would only hurt more if he decided to stay any longer.

"Yeah…"

"Ne, I forgot that you got me all wet… I'm going to take a quick shower." She walked into the bathroom and smiled deviously. "No peeking~"

"W-what makes you think I'd do that, Blondie!" He roared ferociously as she snickered from behind the door.

After listening to the sound of running water from the bathroom, Sting hesitantly took off his ragged old clothes and put on the new ones that Lucy had given him. 'They're so… soft.' Sting thought to himself, feeling the comfortable velvet-like interior brush against his skin.

He looked around the room and noticed all the novels and magazines lying around on the floor. He opened the one closest to him to a random page and saw two adults in a peculiar sight. The woman's hand was placed onto his heart, and the man was brushing her hair out of her eyes. They stared, transfixed by each other's gaze. Sting's eyes widened as he saw their lips touching.

His pale face turned into an embarrassing shade of red as he quickly shut the magazine, stiffly turning away from the article. His mind felt like it was internally scarred. He did not need to see that. "Does that blondie really like that sort of stuff?" He asked no one in particular.

He threw himself onto the bed exhaustedly. He let out a huge yawn and noticed how extremely comfy it was. He laid his head on the pillow, and before he knew it, he couldn't pull himself back up.

Blink.

His eyes dreamily floated around the room. His perfect vision was gradually becoming blurrier with each passing second. He decided that he would only close his eyes for just a few seconds, and then he would get up again.

Minutes passed and he found himself deep in slumber.

When Lucy finally came out of the warm shower, dressed in some pajamas, she noticed that the boy was lying on her only bed fast asleep. The clothes she had given him fit him well. She had to admit that he looked too cute when he wasn't being so arrogant.

'Well, there's no way I'm sleeping on the ground.' she heaved a heavy sigh. She quietly stepped into her bed and tucked the boy snugly inside the warm blanket. Sting smiled in his sleep and unconsciously shifted closer to her. Lucy felt a warm feeling surge inside her chest, and she embraced him in his slumber.

She took her other hand and traced along the scar above his right eye. She felt the boy shudder from her touch, so she leaned closer to him. Their silhouettes bathed in the serene moonlight, steadily breathing ever so gently.

"…good night." She whispered inaudibly.

A/N: D-did you like it? Reviews are very much appreciated. I made the story cover in Fire Alpaca ;0

Edit: 9/4/2017