I have always wanted to write one about Lucy (my favourite character of FT) after reading sooo many FF about her. I saw so many Sting x Lucy recently that this idea popped into my head and I decided to type it out! YAY. HAHA. Let me know what you think, thanks! R&R! :D

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail!

"Ah," Lucy let out a pleasant sigh as she stretched her limbs, "the Grand Magic Tournament is finally over! I can finally have a good rest!"

"P-Punn!" Plue chimed in.

As much as Lucy was elated to be getting her well-deserved rest, she was saddened by the thought of her guild not making the coveted first place in that tournament. Even though the master had comforted them by saying that second place was a terrific job for a guild that has been at the bottom for the past 7 years, Lucy could tell that even Makarov yearned to be on the top. The margin between Saber Tooth and Fairy Tail was far too large. If only Raven Claw did not interfere with them every time, they could have at least a chance. Raven Claw was now no more and there was nobody to blame except for themselves for having so many openings. Makarov, unable to withstand the treatment of Raven Claw towards his precious children, confronted his son and his guild, resulting in a huge fight. Raven Claw was strong, they couldn't have expected anything lesser from Makarov's son, but as you know, a Fairy Tail mage never gives up, no matter the odds. Furthermore, they have had experience with the nearly unbeatable Hades. The only thing that made the fight harder was the fact that Ivan was Makarov's own blood, but the defeat of Ivan was taken care of by Makarov and Laxus, with some help from Natsu who could not stand the sight of his guild master being disrespected by anyone. Raven Claw, Lucy scoffed to herself, was nothing compared to Grimoire Heart. Lucy shuddered, not wanting to think of that dark guild any longer. She still gets nightmares about her tiny head in Kain's gigantic hand, waiting to be crushed like a flour bomb.

As she balanced herself on the edge of the pathway like she does every evening, she thought about Saber Tooth. Like dragon slayers weren't rare enough, that guild has two, two very powerful ones. Not that she was in any position to say that, considering that her guild has three, but the ones in Saber Tooth were true dragon slayers. They had actually slain a dragon before, albeit they were their own parental dragon. Lucy clenched her fist. Sure, their job description mentions dragon slaying, but how could they be so heartless to kill their own family? Even when her father sent Phantom Lord Guild to destroy her family just so that he could get her back to arrange her marriage with some prince, she didn't even think of killing him! Before she could rant her thoughts to the little white spirit next to her, a person collided straight into her, causing her to lose her footing and slip of the pavement. Lucy gave a short squeal and braced the impact of the rough waters of the river below, but it never came. Slowly, she opened her eyes, and then she blinked, and blinked again, not believing her eyes.

She jumped out of the man's arms, which were wrapped around her waist and stood in her fighting stance. One arm in front of her, the other touching her keys.

"What the hell are you doing in Magnolia?" Lucy hissed.

The man in front of her did not reply, instead, he swayed in front of her before stumbling and falling face flat onto the ground.

"E-eh?" the blond stuttered. "Sting? Sting!"

She stared at the lifeless body in front of her and sniffed at the strong pungent smell around. She didn't had to be a dragon slayer to know that he had been drowning himself in alcohol. She let out a long sigh, squatted next to him, pulled one of his arms over her shoulders and dragged him towards her apartment. She contemplated asking the lion spirit to help her but he would probably chide her for helping him and probably make her bring that body to the guild instead. God knows what her family might do to this guy, especially Natsu. Besides, her apartment was nearer.

"That guy is so heavy!" Lucy whined as she threw Sting onto her couch.

The celestial Mage took some time to look at the dragon slayer in front of her. Sting hasn't said a word or moved a muscle since Lucy had found him. Finally, she proceeded to the kitchen to prepare a hot towel and some medicine for the hangover he was sure to have. She placed the towel over Sting's forehead gently as she hummed. It didn't feel quite right, since she was kind of nursing an enemy, but she couldn't help it – Sting looked like a peaceful little kid when he was sleeping like that. Just as soon as she thought that, Sting got up and retched. A smelly yellowish green substance stained her couch and her floor. Lucy covered her nose and looked at the vomit and the cause of it in disgust, and then she cried comically. Stupid me and my stupid mouth that had to jinx everything. Now look at the mess I invited! She thought furiously, resisting the temptation to strangle the unconscious man in front of her.

She stood up and went to her bed, sighing to herself, "I need a break."

She rubbed her temples and rested her eyes, knowing that she shouldn't just leave the stain there, but she really wanted to rest. Soon, darkness overtook her.

When she woke up, Sting was no longer there. Lucy groaned, remembering about the gross-looking liquid she had left that guy with before she had fallen asleep. It would surely smell and probably leave this ugly stain that she would never be able to get rid of. That ingrate, he could have at least- Lucy paused, and took a second look. There wasn't any of that puke on the floor anymore; the only trace of it was a blur stain on the couch. Beneath the glass on the coffee table, there was a note with only four words: thanks and I tried. Lucy nodded, baffled. Just four words and she knew what it meant; she just didn't know that Sting was that kind of person. The kind who would...clean up his own messes.

The incident slipped her mind the next day when Natsu practically dragged her to go to a mission, and Gray and Erza wanted to tag along, of course. The mission was an easy task with a meager reward. Of course, the three teammates of hers decided that there was a need to show off their amazing powers and you know what happens afterwards. Needless to say, the reward went to the town's rebuilding fund. Despite that, Lucy couldn't deny that it was a fun job and it strengthened their bonds as a team.

"Home sweet home!" Lucy cheered. "Let's just hope Natsu and his blue kitty will not crash in here tonight."

"I hope so too," a voice in the darkness said.

"W-who?"

Lucy reached out for her light switch cautiously. When the light was turned on, Lucy came face to face with another blond who sat on the couch smirking.

"Sting! What are you doing here?" she exclaimed, unsure to be feeling threatened by an enemy or to act normal.

"We," he said as he tugged onto Lucy's wrists, "are going out."

"You are noisy, you know that?" Sting commented.

The dragon slayer had dragged the celestial Mage halfway across town to a restaurant with the latter whining and strongly refusing to go with him the whole time.

"I get that a lot," Lucy grinned while admiring the restaurant.

Granted it wasn't a fancy restaurant but it had a homey feeling to it. There weren't many people and the service crew was polite and cheerful. Lucy preferred restaurants like this over fancy, expensive restaurants where you had to be mindful about your behavior at all times. She had enough of those back in the day when she was still an heiress.

"So," Lucy started, breaking the silence between them, "what were you doing in my house without the lights and what are we doing here?"

"To answer the first question, I did turn on the light. I only switched it off when I knew you were coming home."

"How did-," Lucy stopped herself from asking a stupid question, "Oh right, dragon slayer."

"As I was saying, to answer your second question, we are here because I don't like owing people favors. The sooner I'm off your debt, the better."

"What debt?" Lucy asked, confused.

Sting gave the girl a knowing look and the girl exclaimed, "Oh! If you meant the time when you were found drunk, it's okay. I figured your so called 'debt' has already been paid when you tried to do some damage control. But I don't get one thing." Lucy looked at Sting who nodded for her to continue, "How did you know I was returning today? Surely you can't smell me when I'm in the train far away from here?"

Sting smirked as he placed an elbow on the table and supported his head with it, "I didn't. I mean, I didn't know when you were returning. I've been loitering in your apartment for the whole week you've been gone. Man, what a nice place you have and I heard the rent is dirt cheap! Fitting for someone as poor as you, seeing how your guild's notice board is rumored to be one of the emptiest."

"Are you serious?" Lucy deadpanned, ignoring the insults that he had thrown at her and her guild. "You've been there every single day?"

Sting nodded as he flipped through the menu.

"Don't you have any jobs to take on? I'm pretty sure a guild like Saber Tooth would have many missions on their board. Plus, where is your kitty cat? I thought all dragon slayers have an exceed. And for your information, ever since we won second place at that tournament, our notice board has been breaming with requests."

"That's right, second place," Sting emphasized before answering Lucy's previous question, his eyes not leaving the menu. "Lector is with Rogue. I told them I was on a solo mission."

Sting ordered steak while Lucy ordered fish and chips. Their dinner was awkward, at least for the celestial mage, while Sting looked like he wasn't as bothered about the silence as the girl was. When they were done with their food, they decided to sit for a while more, this time, in a more comfortable silence. Lucy smiled to herself. Despite the first impressions Sting had on her, she was enjoying his company more than she had expected.

"Why did you do it?" Sting asked suddenly, breaking Lucy thoughts.

"Do what?"

"Help me when I was drunk. I'm your enemy. Normal people don't help their enemies."

"Well," Lucy thought for a while, "I'm a Fairy Tail mage, aren't I? We are not normal. Plus, I would never live with myself if I left a helpless person by the road. And why would you think we are enemies? We were rivals in the tournament, but now? Not so much as friends, more like acquaintances that don't really get along with each other. But after this dinner, it might change."

Sting stared intensely at Lucy, unsure of what he was feeling when she made her mini speech. He had walked Lucy back home afterwards, much to his and the girl's surprise. A gentlemanly gesture, Lucy noted, how unlike his bad boy looks. The grin never left her face, she realized, while walking halfway. She felt her face heat up as she thought about how happy she was. If Natsu knew that she had gone on a date with Sting, she would never hear the end of it. Date? What Date? She screamed inwardly. This was a thank you dinner! Not a date!

While Lucy was fighting with herself, Sting was staring at the blond girl, amused. He wondered why he was walking that girl home. He stared at the girl some more. She did have a damsel in distress look the first time he saw her with Natsu, but seeing her in the tournament with Flare changed that image. Granted she lost the match, but anybody with eyes could see how strong that celestial wizard was. Those who jeered were idiots not to see how amazing her magic was. Were they blind as well? Could they not see the ten golden keys hanging off her belt, and weren't there only twelve of those on Earthland? A celestial mage like her was a rare find. Sting remembered watching the match in awe, despite his lack of interest initially. Sting snickered; despite that fascinating battle, the matches with Sting Eucliffe in were still the best of the best. Maybe he had decided to walk her back because he had dragged her out of her home without her keys, what if she had met trouble? He would have another debt to pay, not that he would actually mind it that much – he had enjoyed being in the blonde girl's presence, in spite of his initial dread. Sting was thinking so hard that he did not see the blonde girl stop in front of him and Lucy's face collided into Sting's hard chest.

"What?" Sting asked, noticing the sheepish look on her face while rubbing his chest.

"I-I might have left my house keys in the apartment," Lucy stumbled over her words.

"No way."

"It's your fault! If you hadn't pulled me out so quickly, I would have remembered!"

Sting sighed at the girl's dramatic outburst, "I will sneak into your home and get the key out for you. Not like I haven't been doing that for the past few days, the sneaking I mean."

Lucy waited outside her door for Sting to open it.

"I've got to go," Sting said as he opened the door for the female.

Before he left, he leaned down and whispered into the blonde's ear, "Bye Heartfilia, now you owe me one."