Title: Rendezvous

Author: hottee39

Rating: Pg-13 +

Summary: Sticy. Two blondes from different guilds met under a tree.

Sting wandered through the streets of town, trying to locate a good bar. Since the end of the Grand Magic Tournament Games, he had taken up to drinking every night. Rogue called it sulking but honestly, after 4 months since then, he had learned to accept the loss. He just hadn't gotten out of the habit of drinking before bed every night. He stopped in front of bar, observing its exterior and hears the cheers and chatter going on inside, considering if he should enter. He cast a look over at the sky.

The stars were shining brightly in the clear dark sky. Sting recalled a park he had passed by earlier. Smiling to himself, he decided to stop by a nearby store and grab a few bottles of beer.

The bottles clanked loudly in the bag as he strolled towards the town's park. He took a gulp from the bottle in his hand, admiring the stars. Since he was a child, he had a silent hobby of watching the stars and connecting the dots to form constellations. Thank to his status and reputation, he had never divulged this secret to anyone except Lector. It wouldn't do for the fearsome Sting of Sabertooth to indulge in a childish habit. What would people think?

He started humming to Mister Chase's Fuck You Betta song. It was remarkably catchy and somehow, it reminded him of his previous cocky self before the tournament. He could easily get any woman he wanted and he revelled in the delight at the time. However, his loss made him so bitter to the point he lost his appetite in women. Sex just wasn't as appealing as it was. His hunger for pleasure changed into a desire for strength.

He snapped out of his thoughts once he set his sights on a big tree in the clearing. He started his way towards it, approving of his choice as he realized it had a clear view of the night sky.

He blinked in surprise to find that he was not alone in his salvation under the tree. There, sitting against the bark, was the blonde celestial mage doodling away in her book. He faltered in his steps. He was not up to dealing with anyone from Fairy Tail in his moment of reprieve but he was also hesitant to find elsewhere to park his fine behind. He found the perfect place to star gaze and he was not going to let some Fairy ruin it for him.

Feigning ignorance, he reached the tree and abruptly sat down, notably a few feet away from her. It was then she realized she had company and raised her head in curiosity.

"EH?! Sting?" Sting frowned.

"Must you be so loud?" Sting was scowling in annoyance at her. Lucy blushed in embarrassment and lowered her volume.

"Sorry. " She whispered then shook her head at being considerate to him. "Wait. Why are you here?"

He shot her a look. "For peace and quiet." He gulped down his beer and reach into his bag for another one. He scowled as Lucy continued staring at him. "What? This is a public park. I can sit here if I want." He looked away as Lucy winced at his words. Essentially, he was right, she could not really chase him away. She gazed towards the other direction where the inn her team was staying was located. Lucy looked torn between getting away and staying. This was the perfect place where inspiration could easily dawn onto her. After a few minutes of watching Sting do nothing but relax and drink, she resigned herself to ignoring him and continued on her novel.

An hour had finally passed before Lucy looked up at him. In her mind, he looked like a fallen soldier reminiscing the peaceful times as he gazed longingly at the stars. She squinted her eyes and noticed the minor movements his finger was drawing. Her chocolate eyes widened in recognition. He was spotting the constellations in the star and she was surprised at his knowledge since he had managed to spot on of the darkest ones.

She couldn't place her finger on it but she felt compelled to ask him. "Do you do this often?" Sting considered ignoring her but ended up shrugging. Most likely, figuring she was referring to his drinking.

She bit down her annoyance and persisted. Maybe another angle would be better. "Why are you in this town?" For a few moments, she figured he had decided to ignore her and finally resigned into continuing her book. She scribbled a bit more vocabulary, striking out certain words and replacing them with better nouns.

"We have a job in town. Rogue usually does the research portion." The celestial mage blinked at the unexpected but welcomed response. Lucy glanced back at him, nodding in understanding and trying to choice the right words to answer him.

"So you are chilling out till then."

"No!" Lucy swerved her head at his tone of disbelief. He was staring at her like she said something ridiculous and she couldn't stop her cheeks from heating up in awkwardness."I am merely conserving my strength. I don't have time to chill out." Lucy deadpanned.

"Uh-huh. Keep telling yourself that." Lucy waved off his arrogance and returned her attention to her book.

"What about you?"

"Huh?"

"What are you doing out here?" Lucy contemplated against telling the truth but then her mind argued that even if he was going to attack; her team was just a call away.

"We are waiting for Natsu to recover."

"Natsu huh?" Lucy cringed. She could practically hear the emptiness in his voice. It was weird considering how arrogant the White Dragon Slayer was. It sounded so out of place.

"He… He was basically being his stubborn self and overexerted. We are just waiting for him to recover well enough to take the train home." Sting grimaced at the thought of trains and Lucy caught his slip. She couldn't help the small smile that plastered itself on her lips.

"What are you laughing at?" Ok so maybe she let out a little giggle.

"I just find it adorable how no matter how strong dragon slayers are, they hate transportation and get motion sickness." She had to bite her lip from letting another chuckle leave her lips at the sulky expression on the blonde slayer's face.

"It's not adorable. It's just normal." She couldn't help it. She laughed. "Oi! What are you laughing about?!"

"Nothing." She managed as she tried to stifle her laughter.

"Stuff it bunny girl."

"Hey! Where did you hear that?!"

"I overheard Gajeel call you that before. There's nothing wrong with that right?"

"No! I mean yes! there is something wrong! Don't call me that." Sting smirked.

"And why not? There has to be a reason that metal head calls you that." The ball was finally in his court and he was not about to let the blonde get one up on him. "I bet you dressed up in a bunny suit once on stage but Gajeel crashed your party with his god awful singing and he ended up outshining you." He had his eyes closed, awaiting a retort. But he was surprised to hear silence. He turned back towards the celestial mage only to see her face redder than any flames. His jaw dropped. "You have got to be kidding me! That really did happen?" Suddenly the image of Lucy dressed in a tight fitting bunny suit and fishnet leggings with fluffy white bunny ears invaded his mind. He started to blush at the appealing poses his imagination was doing for him.

"Quit it! I was in a critical situation and that was the only option!" At her ridiculous answer, Sting burst out laughing. "Oie! Stop being so mean! You would have done the same thing if you were in my situation!"

"Hahaha! I highly doubt so!" He countered, dodging the hits the blonde was landing on him in her panic state.

"It was so embarrassing! If I know that Gajeel would haunt me with that memory I would have never done it!"

"Hahahaha! I am so glad he did! Or else I will never know!"

"You stupid Stingy idiot!"

"Hey! Don't you start slandering my name!"

"I'll call a bully when I see it!"

"Ok now you are just being dumb." With that he grabbed a hold of both her wrists and stopped her movements. Surprised by the action, Lucy released a cute squeal. Sting blinked. Then he smirked.

"That was cute." Lucy's face turned even redder, struggling uselessly against the other. It was then they both realized that Lucy was nicely settled in his lap and the few feet between them turned into a few inches. They froze and stared at each other before both turned away from each other in embarrassment.

Sting released her arms reluctantly as she slowly slipped away from him and back to her books on the other side. She gathered them together and stuffed them in her book bag while Sting contented himself to finishing his beer. He didn't know how to approach the situation. He watched her silently stand up with her back turned, obviously leaving. Oddly, he didn't want her to leave. He found her company entertaining and wouldn't mind seeing her again.

After the endless silence continued for a long time, he was jolted out of his thoughts by her voice. "It's going to take some time for Natsu to recover. We will be staying a while." With that, she smiled at him over her shoulder and walked away.

Sting blinked the statement, taking some time to gather his thoughts. He smirked in understanding once he got her message. He turned his eyes back on the stars. See you tomorrow.

AN: I suddenly have this fascination with Sting and Lucy. And this just popped into my head and I just HAD to write about them. I love both of them too much not to!