Summary: Set before the Tartaros arc. Sting wants help changing Sabertooth and changing the attitude of the members to be more like Fairy Tail. Who better for the job than Natsu? Disaster will surely ensue. Sting x Natsu with other implied pairings.

Warning: Contains slight spoilers if you haven't read the manga, but nothing more than you've probably already read on a story with no warning.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail

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- A Second Chance -

...

In the town of Magnolia stood the tall and proud guild that was Fairy Tail. Many of Fiore's best mages resided here, they were infamous and their legends were well known across the country. After all, they were now listed as the strongest guild. The afternoon started like any other normal one would in that guild, but soon things would get very interesting for a certain pink haired slayer.

"I'm back!" Natsu yelled, kicking the guild doors open, Happy flying in behind him.

"Could you have arrived any quieter, flame brain?" Gray remarked sarcastically.

"What was that, ice princess?!" Natsu launched himself at Gray and they began their usual brawl.

Mirajane hummed happily as she walked over to the request board, regarding the fighting duo. Unlike Erza, she didn't particularly mind. Her eyes sifted through the large number of request papers that had been piling up since the Daimatou Enbu, looking for any new arrivals. One rather plain one caught her attention. It bore the mark of Sabertooth and simply read 'Special Request: Natsu Dragneel only to come to Sabertooth Guild HQ as soon as possible. Send word as soon as request is accepted. Reward will be specified upon completion.' The takeover mage was a little suspicious at the vague request but she didn't think any harm would come to Natsu.

As always, Gray lost his clothes and went in search of them while Natsu sat down at a table with Lucy and Lisanna.

"Welcome back, Natsu. How did your job go?" Lisanna asked.

"It was so boring! I only got to beat up five monsters!"

"Natsu, you shouldn't say that, you almost got seriously injured!" Happy scolded.

"Natsuuu! Let's go on a team mission already! My rent is almost due!"

"Sure thing, Lucy, you go choose one."

Mirajane chose that moment to approach their table. "Actually, we received a special request for Natsu." She handed him a slip of paper. He reluctantly took it and glanced at its contents, slightly frowning.

"What is it, Natsu?" Lisanna leaned across the table attempting to read it.

"It's from Sabertooth..." Natsu looked puzzled. I wonder what they could want with me….

"Sabertooth..." Lisanna pondered. By now the group was all thinking about what the request could be about. Cana sat there nursing a barrel of wine. She had an amused grin plastered on her face.

"I've heard that Sting Eucliffe's the new master. Finally a young good looking one."

"Tell me about it…" Mirajane chimed in but then shoved a packed bag towards a bewildered Natsu. "The request says to leave immediately." She then nudged him towards the door. "The train leaves in half an hour."

Natsu paled at this. Train…..I'm doomed. But then his grim expression changed to his trademark grin. "Alright! I'm all fired up!" He took off towards the doors at this giving a thumbs up to Mirajane, who went to contact the other guild.

"Natsuuu!" Happy whined after him before Mira grabbed him by the tail. The demon barmaid warned him in her sickly sweet voice that no longer fooled anyone, "The request specified that Natsu came... alone." Happy curled into a ball in fear. Scary… he thought.

"What the hell was that about?" Lisanna looked confused.

"My rent money….." Lucy bawled.

"No need to worry, you can go on a job with me!"

"Thanks Lisanna, you're the best!"

with Natsu

Eugh, Remind me never to ride a train again. Natsu thought while receiving concerned looks from other passengers. He was having a particularly bad spout of transportation sickness today. This didn't exactly help him gather his thoughts on this mysterious request, however Natsu was never one for thinking much. It was coming up to his stop anyway so he painfully inched his way to the carriage doors.

When the train stopped and the doors opened, the dragonslayer fell harshly onto the platform floor.

"I'M SAVED!" Natsu pumped his fist into the air, earning amused and pitiful glances. The solid ground just felt so relieving compared to the evil rocking and bumping of the carriage. After recovering he jumped up and started pushing his way through the crowd.

"NAATSUUU-SAAAN!" an excited blonde man shouted, waving his hand.

"Huh?" Natsu looked up, "S-Sting!" Natsu was a little surprised to see the white Dragon Slayer whom he had fought a while back in the Daimatou Enbu. Back then he had been an arrogant jerk. However after being beaten by Natsu, and following the dragon battle, Sting changed his ways. He admired Natsu even more so than before the Tenroujima incident. With the disappearance of Master Jiemma and his daughter Minerva; he had the chance to change Sabertooth for the better as the new master.

"So, Natsu-san what do you say we go get dinner before I take you back to my guild?" Natsu wanted to enquire as to why he was summoned here but he could never turn down free food, it was free right?

"Sure!" Natsu gave a toothy smile. Sting smirked at this. Perfect.

"I know a great all you can eat..." Natsu drooled at this. Everyone was right, he really is easy to please, Sting thought.

Later

A bloated looking Natsu is slumped on the table of a traditional style pub. Sting sat across from him groaning.

"Ah…. I'm stuffed." Natsu groaned.

"You win…. again." The sickly Sting sighed in mock defeat.

"Let's head to the guild, Natsu-san." Sting regained his cheerful energy.

"Oh yeah, why was it that you wanted me?" Natsu didn't really care, after all he'd been treated to a delicious meal.

"In due time." Oh, Natsu-san. There's more than one reason.

There seemed to be some kind of festival going on. The cramped streets were adorned with decorations, and lanterns were being lit as night fell upon Sabertooth's home town*. The two dragon slayers walked through the market stalls which were packed with shoppers and tourists. A few excited murmurs were heard when several passers-by recognised the guild master and the salamander.

"Is there some kind of festival going on?" Natsu asked, looking longingly at a donut stall.

"It's nothing much, just the summer festival."

"You should see Fairy Tail's fantasia parade, we do it every year in Autumn."

"Really? Come to think about it, I remember reading about that 7 years ago in the Weekly Sorcerer. But since then... maybe they stopped putting it on after the disappearance."

Natsu looked shocked and a little sad to hear this. "I guess… You know we all missed out on a lot during those seven years…." he appeared lost in thought for a few seconds, "But I can't even imagine how painful it must have been for those who were left behind."

Sting didn't want to hear this. This wasn't the reason the reason he had brought the salamander here, it was just wrong to see the usually excited, idiotic Dragon Slayer so solemn. But there was no need to worry, as the pink haired man quickly regained his normal attitude.

"But thanks to Ult…. I mean, three months of training we were able to make up for some lost time!" Natsu had almost mentioned the ex-criminal who had assisted Fairy Tail and had sacrificed herself in order to reverse time during the Dragon Battle on the 7th July. Sting didn't really want to pry into what Natsu had been about to say as it clearly looked important to him.

Suddenly Natsu stopped in front of a particular stall. They were selling all sorts of jewellery. Sting was a little confused so he followed Natsu's gaze until his eyes landed upon a pendant. It was an intricate dragon design made from black metal that had a gorgeous shimmering red effect. He thought it looked incredibly beautiful and Natsu was uncharacteristically fascinated. Sting made a swift decision.

"How much for that one?" He pointed.

The short old woman running the stall spoke slowly, "Hmmm…. It's normally 30,000 jewels but since you're the guildmaster I'll let you have it for 10,000."

"I'll take it." He exclaimed handing a bunch of notes to the woman, who looked satisfied with the transaction, giving a polite nod.

The blonde walked over to Natsu and handed him the pendant.

"Here, take it."

"Wha? I can't accept this, I…. that was expensive." Natsu concluded.

"Don't worry about it. You can take it as an apology for being such a jerk when I first met you."

"Ugh, sure!" Natsu smiled nervously and attached the pendant around his neck. It felt comforting to wear something like this, almost like his scarf. Sting helped him adjust it, his hands lingering a little too long. Ah, what the hell am I doing? He quickly pulled his hands back and looked away. Wait, was Natsu-san blushing? Nah, must have just been seeing things.

Later, at Sabertooth

The two Dragon Slayers walked into the main hall of the imposing pyramidical castle that served as Sabertooth's guildhall. It was eerily quiet, Natsu noticed a disturbing echo with each step he took on the marble floor. The mages sitting on the tables ended their polite conversations with each other.

"Sting-kun!" Lector shouted, breaking the silence as the brown exceed settled on Sting's head. "And… Natsu-kun?"

"You're back." Rogue said blandly. The shadow Dragon Slayer's face remained neutral as he greeted Sting and, reluctantly, Natsu.

"Natsu-sama?"

"Yukino? So you rejoined Sabertooth?" Natsu questioned.

"Yes. Ermm… they've been a lot kinder to me since, you know….." the celestial spirit mage looked at the ground, "anyways, what are you doing here?" She still felt thankful to Natsu, who had stood up to her when she felt she had lost the most important part of her life.

"Ahem!" Sting coughed, "Everyone listen up!" He gathered the attention of everyone in the room. "I have requested Natsu-san here to help us with a small problem. I need to create a guild that follows in Fairy Tail's footsteps. I want to eradicate Jiemma's influence and form bonds with other guilds such as Fairy Tail. I couldn't think of anyone better for the job than Natsu Dragneel."

"WHAT?" Came a (mostly) collective uproar from the members. Some still held a competitive grudge against Fairy Tail, especially after being beaten in the Daimatou Enbu.

Others knew better, having talked more with the guildmaster since those events. Rufus facepalmed. Sting, I know that's not the main reason why you brought him here.

"So, what do you say Natsu-san?" Sting offered his hand to the fire mage.

Natsu thought for a few seconds before he took the hand and shook vigorously, "Let's do this! I'm all fired up." Sting looked a little worried as he took his hand back. Everyone sweat-dropped at Natsu's actions since it appeared as if it was the first time Natsu had been given this kind of responsibility.

Sting abruptly stamped a red Sabertooth guildmark on Natsu's arm, below his Fairy Tail mark.

"You're now a temporary member until you have completed the request. The guildmark allows you to open more of the doors around the place." Sting explained.

"Temporary member? Is that even a thing?" Most people looked doubtful.

"Sting are you sure about this?" Rogue asked.

"Why the hell not?"

Natsu was unfazed by all of the questioning and uncertainty but he did feel a little weird about having two guild marks. He reasoned that it was only temporary anyway.

"I'd better go find an inn to sleep at." Natsu took off towards the doors. However, before he could leave something tugged at his scarf.

"That won't be necessary, Natsu-san." Sting pulled him back, "You'll be staying at my place."

Sting took Natsu's bag and lead him out of the guild into the lamp lit streets.

At Sting's House

Sting lived in a modestly sized stone house on the border of the town where the streets met a pine forest. There was a small stream and waterfall which ran adjacent to the path in front of the house. Natsu thought the sound of running water was relaxing and had to admit that Sting had a pretty decent place here.

Sting unlocked the door and dropped Natsu's bag by the sofa then decided to go make some tea. The house was all open plan. In the front was a sitting room area with a large bookshelf and lacrima vision. A bay window faced the stream while at the back of the house was a kitchen area next to the fireplace where Sting put on the kettle. A staircase led to the bedroom and en-suite bathroom.

Natsu noticed that it was rather simple with not much décor, however his attention was caught by a painting on the wall next to the bookshelf. It was a white dragon perched on a snow capped peak. As Natsu ran a finger along the frame, Sting came up behind him and also looked over the painting.

"You made this?" Natsu asked.

"No, I had an artist paint it. I just described him. Weisslogia, my father." Sting sighed, "If there was one thing I really regret doing… even though he asked me to, I wish he was still alive..."

To Sting's surprise, Natsu turned around and gave him a quick hug.

"I can't tell you not to regret it, but that's not what's important now." Natsu adopted a serious tone, "You said you want to create a friendlier guild, so you should be happy for your friends. Use the power that he gave you to protect them." Sting had gone red in the cheeks by now, not that Natsu noticed. He really admired Natsu's strength of resolve.

"Speaking of which where's Lector?" This snapped the blonde out of the serious moment.

"Oh, I told him to stay with Rogue and Frosche. I didn't want him to bother you." Sting replied.

Why would Lector bother me? Natsu wondered. Never mind.

"Wanna play cards?" Sting asked as he went to pour the kettle.

"Is there a prize?"

"If you want." Sting smiled. Natsu was not going to win this time.

A few hours later, the two sat besides the glowing fireplace and Natsu had just lost yet another round.

"I give up." He yawned, "What do you want as the prize?"

"I'll ask you for something later." Sting smirked. This couldn't have been going more perfectly. Natsu-san is an effortlessly nice person and I finally have the chance to spend more time with him away from the rest of his guild. Especially the blonde girl and the stripper.

"You can go take a shower if you want, it's next to the bedroom upstairs."

"Thanks." Natsu looked really tired. Must be from the train ride and having to use his brain to play cards Sting thought.

Sting walked upstairs to go and prepare the bed. He rolled out a mat for himself.

About 15 minutes later Natsu walked out of the bathroom wearing only shorts, his scarf, and the new pendant. Argh, he doesn't even know how good he looks! How can he just walk around someone else's house like this! Sting shook those thoughts out of his head. I'm being ridiculous.

"You're the guest so can take the bed, I'll sleep on the floor."

Natsu didn't show any reluctance as he dived under the covers. Sting lay down on the mat and closed his eyes.

"Night." Sting mumbled.

"G'night" Natsu responded, "You know, you're actually a really nice person Sting." he said.

Sting suppressed a gasp at this. Well that's the first time I've heard that. I hope it's not the last either. Moments later both were asleep.

The Morning

Natsu awoke the next morning to the sound of running water and harsh sunlight pouring through the open window. He reluctantly opened one eye followed by the other. Where was he? He sniffed the air for a scent. This wasn't his house, or Lucy's. He regathered his thoughts, Sting's house, Sting, Sting was in bed next to Natsu. Wait, What? Natsu nudged the blonde repeatedly until he woke up.

"Huh?" Sting opened his eyes to see the pink haired man nudging him awake. "Sorry, it got cold sleeping on the floor last night. You don't mind do you?"

"Erm...actually no, it's just that Lucy always tells me I shouldn't do it, so I was just surprised is all." He mumbled the last part. So he crawls into Lucy's bed? Sting frowned. I better keep those two apart for a while.

"Do you want me to make breakfast?" Natsu offered.

Sting was slightly surprised, "You can cook?"

Natsu pouted at Sting's uncertainty, "I'm not that great but I can handle pancakes and stuff."

As Natsu got dressed and walked downstairs to the kitchen, Sting stretched and yawned. I wish I could have this everyday.

Sabertooth

Sting and Natsu once again set foot in the quiet guild hall which Natsu thought was just plain wrong.

"Ohayo, minna!"** Natsu greeted cheerfully, to which he earned a few good mornings in response. He was awake and full of energy as always.

"Natsu, there's someone on the communication lacrima for you." A bored looking Rogue informed him.

Natsu swiped the device to see Mirajane's projection.

"Oh, hi Mira-chan."

"Well Natsu, how's it going? What was the request about?" the barmaid inquired.

"Erm, Sting wants me to help improve Sabertooth."

"Really?" Mirajane looked a bit shocked, "That's unexpected to say the least. How's it gone so far?"

"Great, Sting's been really nice to me, but I'm not really sure about how to carry out the request. Apparently I'm the perfect one for the job or something."

"Well, Natsu if that's the case then you just need to think about what's different here than at Fairy Tail."

"I've got it!" A light bulb switched on in his head.

"You don't mean..."

"Yes. That." By now he had an evil grin on his face.

It didn't take too long for Natsu to start a full out brawl. A few insults and chairs thrown, plus a few pranks pulled was all it took. It seemed like the members had just been suppressing it before. All mages had this competitive urge. The fight had people declaring enemies and even throwing some spells here and there. The turned over tables and smashed chairs were all completely foreign to these people.

Natsu currently sat on top of a pile defeated opponents looking triumphant. Sting approached him looking pale.

"Are you sure about this, Natsu-san?"

"This is what it's like in Fairy Tail. It's perfect. With rivalry and fighting they'll actually become better friends and stronger fighters."

Sting thought about this for a moment before he decided, "Okay, but I just hope they don't cause too much damage. "

"You can stop them before that happens."

"It's almost lunch time anyways. So, about my prize from yesterday?"

This caught Natsu's attention, "Yeah, what about it?"

"Go on a date with me." Sting said bluntly.

A date? Natsu wondered. I remember Lucy was going to go on one once, before she changed her mind. But what does it mean?

"A date?" He asked.

"Yeah, there's an amazing Eastern Restaurant in Kraken Hill Park***. You have to go since I beat you yesterday."

"Okay."

Sting had honestly not expected Natsu to be so eager. Did he even know what this means now? If he didn't, Sting would have to make him know.

"Rogue, watch the place for a while. I'm going on a date with Natsu-san." He ordered while leading a slightly bewildered Natsu by the hand. Rogue had actually become somewhat of a deputy guildmaster since the job entailed too of responsibility for just the young mage.

That was fast Rogue thought, better start breaking up these fights before this gets out of hand. Rogue sincerely disapproved of the chaos but if Sting thought that it would make the guild a better place then he'd comply. To an extent.

Later

Natsu guessed the place was named after the tall rocky outcrop with the gigantic tree sprouting tentacle-like roots. The forest lined park sprawled out below, converging with the town by bridges over the two rivers. The restaurant was situated on the edge of the park with a stunning view of the cliffs. Normally one would have to make reservations at the restaurant but Sting was able to pull a few strings.

The date had actually been going quite well (in Sting's opinion). Natsu was still a bit oblivious but he was eating more politely than normal and the two enjoyed talking about their various battles, with Sting particularly interested in the frozen village and Atlas Flame (although he was quite disturbed to hear that Minerva had joined the dark guild Succubus Eye). Sting desperately tried to be obvious by keeping eye contact and touching Natsu's hand.

Unbeknownst to them however a certain blonde reporter was seated on the other side of the room scribbling furiously into a notepad. Cool! Cool! Cool! This is going straight to the new website, it just can't wait for the magazine.

At Fairy Tail

Lucy, Lisanna, Gray and Loke were sat on a table chatting while Levy was was browsing her new Lacrima Mini-Archive [A laptop basically, which I'm going to say was invented during the time skip] which Gajeel had got for her.

"When's Natsu coming back?" Lucy asked.

"I have no idea what flame for brains is doing, why don't you ask Mira?"

"Come to think of it Erza's not back from her job either so we can't go on a team mission anyway."

"Kyaaaaa!" Levy screamed looking dazed.

"What's wrong Levy-chan?" Lucy asked, concerned for her friend. Levy was just fanning herself and couldn't get any words out.

"Pull yourself together!" Gray shouted, shaking her a bit.

"Sorry about that. It's just, I was reading Weekly Sorcerer Online when I came across this article," she explained, "apparently Natsu and Sting went on a romantic date for lunch!"

"WHAT?!" was the collective response.

"They liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiike each other." Happy broke the ice.

Everyone crowded around the Lacrima Mini-Archive to see the image. There on the screen was a clear as daylight photo of their pink haired friend eating a meal with Sabertooth's guildmaster. That they looked closer than friends is the least one could say.

"That's gotta be some kind of mistake, this is Natsu we're talking about, right?" Lucy looked doubtful. You couldn't blame her really, Natsu had never shown any romantic tendencies. Levy had a slight nose bleed. Juvia had come over with a starry look in her eyes.

"With one more love rival out of the way, I can feel myself getting closer to my Gray-sama."

"What the hell's wrong with you? Me and ash-breath? Don't make me vomit."

"Yeah I really don't think that's the case." Lucy spoke while Juvia glared daggers at her.

Cana had watched the whole thing play out but wasn't about to pointlessly argue about it. Rather she thought she would go "help" the pink haired idiot. And by help she meant mostly teasing. She packed her supplies for the journey aka a couple of bottles of liquor. She grabbed Loke from behind and whispered something in his ear.

"Sorry Princess but I must go! Two star crossed lovers are calling for me!"

He and Cana then hurried out before an enraged Lucy could protest.

"It's already a disaster." Lisanna remarked.

Kraken's Hill

After the lunch, the two dragon slayers had decided to climb Kraken's Hill. It was quite a steep climb but it was nothing two active mages couldn't handle. The two had stared at the view of the town before Natsu had dozed off in the afternoon heat. The town was bathed in a soft golden light that accentuated the old cobbled streets and tall stone buildings.

Sting had decided to watch Natsu sleep. For such a destructive mage, he really was adorable when sleeping. It was at that moment that Sting decided that he wouldn't let anyone else take him. Natsu was his.

Sting leaned over and gave Natsu a short kiss before Natsu's eyes shot wide open and he scrambled backwards. Sting felt a pang of guilt at having taken advantage of the sleeping man but quickly dismissed it, it didn't suit him.

He panted a bit, "S-sting, what the hell was that about?" Natsu may have been pretty clueless about relationships but he knew what a kiss meant. What he didn't know is why Sting did it.

"Couldn't I have been more obvious? The pendant and then the date?" He smirked in his usual confident way, "I've been wanting to do that for a while now. I want you to be mine, Natsu-san."

Natsu did not turn into a nervous wreck at this however. Instead, his confused expression turned into a sadistic grin, "Oh yeah? Well then make me." With that he poked Sting on the forehead and took off down the rocky outcrop.

This was not what Sting had expected. He was worried about rejection, but he didn't think that Natsu would be playful. But then again this was Natsu, full of surprises. The Dragon Slayer then activated his white drive. Energy crackled around his body before he shot away to catch up to Natsu at an alarming speed.

Natsu had just turned a corner on the winding path carved into the cliffs when Sting came crashing into Natsu, pushing his back into the cliff face. The rock would have felt scorching hot to a normal person. Sting then forced their mouths together, grabbed Natsu's wrists and pulled his arms above his head while deepening the kiss. Natsu had no room to protest.

"Looks like I win, Natsu-san."

Later

Sting and Natsu strolled back towards the guild with Sting often attempting to hold Natsu's hand. They were not prepared for the sight that welcomed their return. Several reporters and a sea of fangirls crashed into them.

Screams of "Sting-sama" could be heard while cameras flashed. Natsu paled and gulped.

"Is it true that you two are now in a relationship?" A young female reporter pushed her way to the front of the crowd, holding a video recording device over her shoulder.

Sting brought Natsu into a kiss and responded, "Yes, Natsu is mine." Natsu was caught off guard by the public display of affection and he really didn't appreciate that it had been photographed. How does everyone even know about us? It's only been a few hours and I'm still not even sure about my feelings for Sting.

Before the pair could be assaulted any further though Natsu heated up the air and emanated an intimidating aura. This scared most of the crowd away and they entered the guildhall. Sting was actually relieved, the August heat was getting to him a bit so he wanted to cool off indoors.

When they entered there were a few whispers but most of the members were too engaged in flamboyant rows to notice their guildmaster and Natsu arrive.

Suddenly though, Natsu was grabbed by a pair of arms and dragged towards the bar. He was kicking and protesting before he noticed who it was.

"Loke?"

He then noticed a dizzy looking Cana sitting on a barstool.

"I see you've erm done some good work here, Natsu." Loke took in all of the brawls around him.

"Sooooo. Tell me what happened?" Slurred Cana.

"What?"

"About you and Sting, idiot." Loke snapped.

"What about us?" Natsu asked. He was difficult to wind up unless you were Gray. "What are you guys even doing here?"

"We came here to help you and your love life." Loke proclaimed cheerfully.

"So did you guys do it yet?" Cana blurted out.

"Do what?" Natsu said with a straight face.

Cana facepalmed. Loke whispered something in his ear as Natsu's eyes widened slightly.

"Errrr, could you explain a bit more?"

Loke sighed but then whispered some more. For about a whole minute. Cana downed a few more shots before Natsu came to a realisation and then blushed.

"WHAT THE HELL CANA? IT'S BEEN LESS THAN A DAY!"

Cana just giggled.

Sting walked up behind Natsu and grabbed him in a possessive hold with no chance of excape.

"What the hell are you shouting about?" He asked.

Natsu turned a deep shade of red, "Never you mind." He grunted.

Cana had now had her fun winding up the Dragon Slayer. She had other mischievous plans anyway. "I challenge anyone here to a drinking contest!" She shouted.

"You're on, fairy." Sneered several mages.

The drinking contest eventually turned into drinking games with the whole guild drawn into the drunken party. Bodies were lying on the floor, on tables and even hanging from railings. You could smell the alcohol in the air.

"Things sure are livelier here..." Yukino managed to say while being hoisted off the floor by the only sober member, Rogue.

"Yeah, while I usually prefer peace and quiet, I have to say it feels a lot friendlier here now." He put his arm around her shoulder to support her. "I'll take you back, you shouldn't really be going off on your own."

Most of the mages decided to just fall asleep where they lay while some made their way to their homes. In one corner Natsu lay curled up against Sting's chest in a semi conscious state. Sting ran his hands through the pink hair.

"It's time to go home, Natsu-san."

Natsu just groaned at this so Sting slung Natsu over his shoulder.

At Sting's House

"Hey! Put me down!" Natsu yelled as Sting carried him up the stairs to his bedroom.

"No." Sting replied.

Natsu yelped and struggled even more.

"Fine, fine, I'll put you down." Sting pushed Natsu onto the bed and climbed on top of him.

"Ahhh! Get off of me!"

"Nah, I don't think I'll do that … Natsu. Don't worry, I promise I'll be gentle."

The Morning

Natsu awoke the next morning before sunrise. Sting had not kept his promise. When Natsu tried to stand he discovered he was in too much pain and stumbled, the noise waking Sting up.

"Mmmm too early, Natsu. Come back to bed." He left no room for argument and Natsu was roughly pulled back into bed next to Sting who wrapped his arm around his chest. The sun was just beginning to rise so the two drifted back off to sleep.

A few hours later Sting found the other side of the bed empty and worried a bit before pciking up the smell of breakfast. He sauntered downstairs.

"Waffles?" He asked.

"And ice cream." Natsu smiled.

"For breakfast?"

"Why not?"

"No, it's just, I think I love you." Sting admitted

Natsu looked slightly shocked at this revelation.

"You don't have to respond ye-"

He was cut off by Natsu chuckling, "It's not that. I just thought you made it obvious last night."

Sting couldn't help but laugh as well before he kissed Natsu gently.

The pair ate their breakfast and headed to the guild walking in comfortable silence. Or in Natsu's case half limping.

Sting wasn't used to seeing his guild like that this but he smiled. It was definitely an improvement on the previous grim atmosphere. Many people were just waking up from last night's drunken party while others were chatting animatedly or eating breakfast.

Cana was still asleep on a table while Loke was trying to stir her. The latter gave up and decided to approach Natsu. He took in the slight limp that the dragonslayer was trying to hide.

"You didn't…." The celestial spirit grinned knowingly.

This however was Natsu, so the celestial spirit earned a flaming punch which sent him flying into a beam with a crack of splintered wood.

Just then the guild doors swung dramatically open to reveal a seriously ticked off Erza followed by Gray, Lucy and Happy. The sun bounced off her polished armour and sword to make her look like the personification of vengeance.

"Natsu!" she bellowed. The fire mage attempted to dive under a table before he was pulled back by Sting.

"What's the big deal?" He asked. Poor fool Gray thought. Doesn't yet know of the terror that is Erza.

"Sting Eucliffe." She said in a calm voice that somehow didn't hide the murderous intent, she noticed the slight pain in Natsu's expression. "What the hell did you do to him you sick bastard?" she bit.

"Nothing he didn't want." He replied smugly. Wrong answer. Erza took a step towards him but before she could attack him Gray pulled back one arm while Lucy took the other.

"Calm down Erza you're being unreasonable." Lucy struggled to speak. She trembled in anticipation before Erza stepped back.

"You're right, please hit me." She offered. Lucy, of course, declined.

"However. Loke. Why didn't you stop this from happening? Cana. I'm guessing this drunken party is your fault." Loke gulped while Cana finally started to get a hold of her surroundings. "You will both be punished." The knight then dragged the two offenders out of the guild.

After a while Sting had decided to go tend to some guild business while Erza had finally calmed down after giving a severe beating to the spirit and card mage.

"So why exactly are you here, Natsu?" She asked while digging into a slice of strawberry cake.

"Oh, yeah, I'm supposed to be helping to change Sabertooth into a more friendly guild."

"How's that coming along?"

"I got everyone into a guild brawl and then Cana got everyone drunk."

"Oh, trust you flamebrain." Gray said sarcastically.

"HEY! It's working too, you should have seen how quiet it was the other day."

"And how's Sting?" Erza's tone was full of suspicion.

Natsu was kind of annoyed by this, "Actually, Erza, Sting is a really nice person. He even gave me this pendant." He pointed to the item that was showing just below his scarf.

Lucy looked dreamy, "Ah, it's amazing, this is all going straight to my latest novel!" She squealed while taking her new pink Lacrima Mini-Archive and started typing. How did we live without these things before she thought.

Erza was a little taken aback, "Forgive me Natsu, I just can't help but be a little overprotective."

"I should probably go and phone Mira-chan for some more advice."

He then went to the back to use the guild's communication lacrima. He swiped his hand across the blue crystal ball to summon Mirajane. She answered almost immediately, a life sized hologram appeared since Sabertooth used the latest model. Every so often her image flickered, or distorted, reminding Natsu that she wasn't actually present.

"Natsu!" She sounded like her usual cheerful self. "How's the mission going? What have you been up to with Sting? I've had fangirls coming in since yesterday afternoon asking about how long you two have been going out or if they can get signed photos."

"It's been going great, Mira-chan! I started a huge brawl and Cana got everyone drunk!"

"My, my, you have been busy! Sabertooth is starting to sound just as rowdy as Fairy Tail. Anyway, did you need help with something?"

"Oh yeah, I wanted to ask if you had any ideas for a planned party. I thought that if other guilds were invited it would strengthen connections. "

Mirajane thought for a while. "Oh, I know! We could organise a formal fancy-dress party!"

"Ooh, that sounds fun. I wouldn't know what to wear though."

"Don't worry, we can put it on tomorrow so that you have time to plan. I know, I'll buy costumes!" Mirajane appeared to be enjoying this too much, she certainly had some devious ideas.

"Thanks, Mira-chan. I'll talk to you about it later then. Ja ne!"

"All right, Natsu, bye."

Natsu swiped his hand across the crystal ball once more and Mira's image slowly faded.

Later

As per Mirajane's instructions, preparations were in order. The members of team Natsu were currently decorating the grand hall. They had decided to extend the venue into the plaza in front of the guild building. Natsu and Gray were currently hoisting up a chandelier while Erza, Happy and Lucy were hanging up banners.

The party conveniently matched up with the last night of the summer festival so the Sabertooth mages were also helping by cleaning up and setting their own preparations by buying costumes. The anticipation and cheer were at an all time high.

Sting was currently delighted with Natsu and his team mates' work so far. Things couldn't have been going better and for the first time in his life he felt content. The guildmaster gazed at his lover, who was currently in a heated argument with Gray, with punches being thrown here and there. The cocky white Dragon Slayer used to feel smug by starting fights and beating up his opponents, he relished the feeling of making others feel weak and defenceless. But now he had Natsu, and a guild full of friends which he could rely on. This type of happiness was much better.

The Next Evening

One could feel the buzz in the air. Townspeople gathered at bars and walked through the streets enjoying the festivities. Paper lanterns strung in the air swayed in the evening breeze. The most excitement however came from Sabertooth's guildhall. Many members gathered from various guilds such as Blue Pegasus, Mermaid Heel, Lamia Scale and of course Fairy Tail.

Everyone was clearly enjoying the night. Mirajane really had outdone herself on the costumes. Erza was a pirate, Gray was a ninja (unfortunately for him Dobengal looked identical, not that the clothes would stay on Gray), Lucy was a robot while Happy wore a fish suit. Gajeel and Levy had also decided to attend, dressed as a chess king and queen. Lisanna followed closely behind, using a lizard takeover to help with her dragon costume. Natsu was a cat. It could be seen as an odd choice but you can't argue with Mirajane. Not if you value your life.

Sting was currently hiding behind a column. He had decided on a white knight costume which served him well. He took a glance around and admired the sight of his lover, Natsu looked stunning in that sexy cat costume. The pink haired man was looking around anxiously for him. It didn't take him too long though; when he got close to Sting's hiding place he was grabbed around the waist and pulled into a nearby closet.

Levy saw this and got a nosebleed. Gajeel tried to help her but he too was suppressing a nosebleed. Panther Lily just facepalmed at this, yaoi fangirl and closet pervert.

Sting passionately made out with the fire mage. His hands felt their way down his back.

"Mirajane-san really knows what she's doing with her costumes. Sorry, I just couldn't wait until after the party." He now stroked the magically animated tail, which Natsu could actually feel due to living link magic.

A while later the two emerged, straightening out their costumes and hair. Sting pulled Natsu's scarf tighter to try and hide the evidence of their make-out session as they walked hand in hand to the plaza where couples were dancing.

Natsu admired their hard work, torches were lit around the borders, their flames twisting excitingly in the updraughts. Gray had even made some ice sculptures. Erza was currently desperately hiding from Ichiya and secretly praying that Jellal would magically show up. Gray ran from Juvia who in turn was chased by Lyon. This was nothing out of the ordinary, but the group of exceeds were currently gossiping and amused by Yukino and Lisanna who were fighting over who gets to dance with Rogue.

"Can I have everyone's attention please!" All present turned their heads to a small stage which had been assembled. It turned out Mirajane had actually joined in. She continued, "We will now be hosting the summer festival couples' dance tournament. The prize is 30,000 Jewels and a brand new Lacrima Tab each!" The crowd all roared in appreciation. "Everyone take your partners. I will be your judge." Everyone jostled to get their desired partner.

As the music started playing, Sting took Natsu by the hand, "May I have this dance?" he asked courteously but also grinning smugly.

Natsu just burst out laughing, Sting pouted at this. "I'm sorry it's just I'm not good with all this romance stuff. But I will dance with you," he noticed who his friends had chosen, Lucy had given in to Loke while Erza had taken Gray; "I won't lose to Erza and the stripper."

Sting chuckled nervously, "You do know how to dance, right?"

"Yes. Erza made sure of that." He shuddered, remembering the harsh beatings.

A few minutes later, as the song drew to a close, only a few couples remained. Most pairs could not keep up with the sheer competitiveness; only three remained. Earlier, Gray froze the floor in an attempt to cause the competitors slip, Natsu avoided it by flaming up his feet. Lucy, driven on by the will to pay her rent urged Loke to use his magic. He shone a bright light in order to dazzle his rivals but Sting simply ate it. This replenished his energy somewhat as he lead Natsu with new found vigour. We've got this one Natsu thought.

The song finally ended and Mirajane took to the stage. "I will now announce the winners." She paused while a drum rolled. "It will go to by far the cutest couple here..." she paused again. Yep, definitely usNatsu beamed. "Happy and Frosche!" She finally revealed jubilantly.

"WHAT?!" Was the reaction. Natsu's hopes were crushed but he was actually glad for his companion. Erza and Lucy both looked mortified but Gray didn't really care. Loke only felt sorry for his master.

The two exceeds flew to the awaiting Mirajane who held out their prizes. " Kukuku, nobody noticed us because they were too busy fighting." The blue cat said with a face showing evil satisfaction.

"Fro thinks so too." The frog-like cat regarded the new devices.

A while later, Natsu and Sting decided to talk to Mirajane.

"Where did you get the money to do that, Mira-chan?" Natsu asked. "I didn't even know you'd turned up."

"Oh I told Master Makarov about what everyone was doing at Sabertooth so he donated some of the guild funds. The rest came from a sponsor: the corporation behind all of this new technology, Bindweed."

"Sponsor?" Sting pressed.

"Yes, I met the CEO on the train ride here and he asked if I was heading to Sabertooth. I talked about the competition I was planning so he donated the two Lacrima Tabs."

Behind her, a tall middle aged man with dark brown balding hair introduced himself, "Greetings you two. I'm Lokar Bindweed." He extended a hand which Sting and Natsu reluctantly shook.

"It's an honour to meet the guildmaster and the famous salamander, but I really must be off now, business to attend to." He began to walk away, "I sincerely hope our paths cross again though." With that he was gone.

"You know some weird people, Mira-chan."

Mirajane frowned a bit before stepping closer to Natsu, "Actually, the council warned Master Makarov to watch out for those guys." She turned to Sting, "You should also know. But don't tell anyone else or let your suspicion show. I'll contact you if I hear any more news."

"Well I'm sure Natsu-san noticed this as well, he smelled odd, different, but I can't figure out what it was."

"Hmmm, I'll be sure to inform Master about this." She appeared deep in thought. "Don't concern yourselves with it for now, you two should go home and rest, the others and I are staying at an inn for the night."

"I'll see you around." Sting waved her goodbye before taking Natsu's arm to head home.

Morning, Sabertooth

The morning brought dark grey clouds and soft rain, almost as if brining about the end of the summer festival. The members of Fairy Tail stood by the doors as they'd decided to say goodbye to the guild before returning.

"I must congratulate you on a job very well done, Natsu-san. My guild is finally a welcoming and friendly place."

Natsu shrugged, "It's not like I did all the work anyway, some of it was Cana and Mira-chan. And besides now I have to go back and..."

"I never told you what the reward was."

"But I don't need a reward, I had fun here and besides..."

"You'll really like it. I thought there were a few things I could teach you about Dragon Slaying Magic. Maybe I could help you develop something similar to my white drive or Rogue's shadow drive. The training will probably last at least a month so you'll be able to stay a little longer."

Natsu was ecstatic at the prospect of learning more techniques and spending more time with Sting. "Really?"

"Yes. Also Rogue and I found this rare book on equilibrium magic which I believe should be able to cure motion sickness. We can try and work that out together."

This put the excitable Dragon Slayer over the edge and he hugged the blonde tightly. "You really are the best."

Sting smirked. "I know." He hugged back.

"But, this is okay with you guys right?" Natsu turned to Erza and group.

Erza nodded. "So long as you fight me when you get back. Gray I'll see to it personally that you don't fall behind." Gray's eyes widened and he gulped.

Lucy looked a little sad to hear that her best friend and team-mate would be gone for an indefinite amount of time but she would be happy so long as he was. "We'll all miss you."

Almost everyone nodded in agreement. "I won't." Gray remarked, which earned him a hard slap to the back of the head from Erza. They then took off saying their goodbyes. Erza slammed Natsu's head into her metal breastplate as she embraced him before taking her leave. Happy stayed at Sabertooth with his "father"; he also enjoyed the company of the other exceeds.

Two Months Later

The training had gone particularly well for the Dragon Slayers. It was intense, and Natsu was very sore but it was worth it since he'd now mastered his fire drive. While in this state, he could move a lot faster, use lightning fire more efficiently and he had unlocked a flame form which could protect him from damage for a few seconds. The equilibrium magic worked somewhat. Natsu and Sting discovered that while it couldn't completely cure the inherent Dragon Slaying magic side effect, but at least now they only felt slightly miserable on transportation once the spell had been cast. There were also spells which allowed them to clear negative thoughts and obtain better focus. Natsu was now even closer to his lover, and Rogue had officially become the deputy guildmaster.

Sting had decided to accompany Natsu on his long awaited return. The fire mage was eager to see his friends again even if they had stopped to visit him once in a while. His anticipation built as he walked through the Magnolia streets, taking in the smell of his home town.

The two Dragon Slayers and the exceed now stood in front of the large oak doors of the Fairy Tail guildhall. Natsu dramatically kicked the door open and entered.

"I'M BACK!" He shouted.

However, Natsu was unprepared and slightly disturbed by the display before him. Most of the members sat staring at some kind of glowing blue screen. Everyone had clearly become addicted to their various archive devices.

"Ah. So this is what happens when I'm gone for two months." He looked at Sting, "You know what to do right?"

"Yes. Let's kick their butts Sabertooth style!" The two dragonslayers then activated their respective drives and initiated an all out guild war. Not before giving concerned eye contact with Mirajane and Makarov.

...

-End of "A Second Chance"-

...

-To Be Continued-

...

A.N. This is my first fanfiction so I'll be glad if you just read it. Any reviews, especially constructive criticism is highly appreciated. You don't necessarily have to agree with my pairing choice but I'd like to know how the other parts were. In case you didn't notice I was setting up my next story throughout with the archive devices and suspicious corporation "Bindweed." That story will keep the Sting x Natsu pairing but will focus more on the story since I don't think I'm much good at romance.

* Sabertooth's location is unknown and I'd rather not make one up in case they mention it later in the manga. (It's not in Crocus is it?)

** Ohayo minna: morning everyone, Ja ne: see you soon

*** Couldn't resist to put Kraken in a place name for some reason. I had to draw a picture of the place as well.

I now leave you with a short extract from my next story: "Bindweed Archive".

She was in a room deep inside the black castle. She sat slumped in the corner, gigantic walls of machines towered above her, lights blinking and components whirring. 'It really is beautiful' she thought. The servers emitted a constant low buzzing noise and speakers crackled with static. 'I wish I could enjoy it more but I've got work to do.' She stood up and ran to a door with an ascending spiral staircase.

Soon, the teenage girl emerged at the top of the tower. She walked towards a perch overlooking the city. Her city, that her father had given her, Black Lotus. It could best be described as a confused forest of dark Gothic spires and tall chimneys spewing thick grey smoke. At the straight edged borders of the city, yellow grassy plains extended as far as the eye could see.

A shady middle aged man walked up behind the girl, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Emery, my daughter." He greeted, showing no emotion on his face.

"So you're back." She smiled.

"Is it time?" He asked.

"Yes Father. I will complete your dying wish."

Tell me what you think of this preview.