Chapter Text
Sting let out an embarrasingly loud yelp as the door to his office crashed open accompanied by a clap of thunder. He was tempted to repeat said yelp when his eyes locked with those of a livid looking dragon slayer surrounded by frenzied lightning. Sting, however, chose to lock eyes with said dragon slayer and simply asked, "Can I help you?
"Tell your weird, emo, minion to stay the hell away from my friends!" said Laxus, angry static radiating off him.
"Emo… minion... Rogue? First off, he's not my minion; he's my partner. And second, what has he done exactly?" enquired Sting, countless scenarios flashing through his mind most involving Rogue harming various people because Rogue believed Frosch was in some way threatened.
"He's been… harassing Freed,” said Laxus who had now turned slightly red.
"Harassing? Rogue's not really a confrontational person. I doubt he'd 'harass' anyone."
"He's a bad influence. In case you don't remember he tried to destroy Crocus." Sting now stood up and moved so that he was face to face with Laxus and met him with a deadly glare. White scales had broken out on Sting’s face and dangerous holy white light surrounded him.
"The person that tried to destroy Crocus was not Rogue. Rogue is a delightful person and a brilliant influence on anyone. I seem to remember you and your goons actually tried to destroy Magnolia not so long ago, and none of you were possessed. You have no idea how much he punishes himself for something he never did, so if you have a problem with him or anyone else in my guild I will-" Laxus held his hands up in defense.
"Look, I'm sorry. My bad. That... that came out wrong. I know Rogue isn't a bad guy. Look, I think you'd get it if you came with me," said Laxus already dragging Sting out of his office.
"Hey! I have stuff to do! I’m a guild master you know!" complained Sting trying to wriggle his way back to his paperwork.
"No, you don't, Angel Boy. You're coming with me."
One excruciating train ride later, Laxus and Sting were hiding in a bush and staring intently at Rogue and Freed who were having coffee together. Said pair were holding hands under the table, looking at one another with adoring eyes and talking to one another quite animatedly.
Sting stared at the sight: a third in shock, a third in sadness and a third in anger. Confusion was the first thing that washed over him. Rogue had never dated anyone before. Sting honestly assumed he was asexual. The second thing he felt was sadness. Did Rogue not see him as attractive? He dropped all the flirty hints he could to the noirette without seeming too obvious, and Freed was his first choice? Furthermore, why hadn't Rogue mentioned this to him? The last thing Sting felt was anger. Specifically towards Freed which he knew was unjustified, but it was there all the same.
"Now do you see the problem, Lightbulb?"
"I... I mean, they're both perfectly entitled to date whoever they want and-"
"Cut the crap bulbs for brains! Your hands curled up into fists the moment you saw them and you look like you're about to cry!"
Sting rubbed his eyes self consciously. "How did this even happen anyway?"
"About a week ago, Freed invited Rogue round. Said he was interested in learning more about his magic. Might help him make some new scripts. Next thing I know, they're hitting it off like a house on fire. They're both so intelligent that I can't understand half the things they say to one another. They're both already in so deep and it's only been a week that I don't really know what to do. I'm worried I'm going to lose him."
"Wait a second! You like Freed?!"
"That's only just occurred to you now?! Oh Mavis you are going to be no help. Also, if you tell a soul you're dead."
"I mean, do we even have any right to interfere? If they like each other, and make each other happy... maybe we should leave them be?" ventured Sting although the words felt like venom on his tongue.
"To hell with that. What are you? A man or a mouse? We have got to at least let them know there are other options on the table."
"And how do we do that?"
"Like I have a fucking clue! Look, step one is to just keep them the hell away from one another."
"Roger that. I should really be getting back to Sabertooth, but thanks, Laxus, for trusting me. I won't let anyone know your secret. I promise."
"No problem, Lightbulb. And Sting?"
"Yeah?"
"I won't tell anyone your secret either."
Sting gave him a quick smile and then turned towards the horrible train ride home.
Xxx
Rogue stood outside Freed's house nervously. His letter, with its perfect calligraphy and flawless spelling, had made the purpose of their meetup very clear: to study Rogue's magic, so that he could create some new spells, but that didn't stop Rogue being a nervous mess. What if Freed really didn't like him when he got to meet him? Or he offended him? And Rogue ended up being single handedly responsible for the breakdown of diplomatic relations between Fairy Tail and Sabertooth?
Rogue was seriously starting to regret not bringing Frosch along when the door open to reveal Freed and Rogue had to suppress a yelp of surprise.
"Sorry to startle you. I could see you through the window debating whether or not to knock, and I eventually concluded that opening the door might be beneficial."
Rogue gave the mage a nervous smile as he hid behind his bangs. "Sorry, my anxiety kind of overtook me."
Freed smiled back, "That's perfectly all right. Come on in, would you like a cup of tea?"
Once they were at the table, sipping on green tea, Freed said, "I have a confession to make. The premise of our meeting today was not entirely truthful. But there was a good reason for deceiving you as I don't think this discussion is one to have via letters. Now, feel free to stop me at any time because I have made some pretty big assumptions, and I apologise if I'm wrong." Freed then took in a deep breath. "Sorry, it's harder than I thought it would be to actually tell someone this." He rubbed his face for a good few seconds before saying, "I... have... romantic feelings for Laxus. Would I be correct in saying you have the same for Sting?"
Rogue just blinked at the mage for a good couple seconds. Of the countless scenarios Rogue had thought up for today's meeting this was certainly not one of them. Honestly, Rogue had never told anyone about how he truly felt about Sting. Not Minerva, not Yukino, not even Frosch. However, Freed had put himself on the line by opening up and the confession seemed so genuine and heartfelt and vulnerable that Rogue felt he simply had to repay the man with honesty. Not to do so would be dishonourable. Hesitantly, he nodded in conformation.
Freed breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank Mavis." He allowed himself a small chuckle. "It was going to be problematic to say the least if I was wrong.
"Now, please let me know if this sounds familiar: you've been essentially in love with a blonde haired dragon slayer for about as long as you've understood what love is. Said blonde dragon slayer used to be... problematic to general society. But you yourself knew that he was just frustrated and needed some affection and Natsu to knock some sense into him.
"Now said blonde is a reformed yet still arrogant leader type who has the respect of many. Everyone thinks said blonde is secretly in love with a lovely white haired female mage. You, however, as his less emotionally driven more mature partner keep getting mixed signals from said blonde and it's starting to drive you slightly insane. However, you don't feel that you can do anything about it because you and said blonde are in a group together with two other beings. Said group is a catchy two word phrase that begins with a 'T' and it's one of the most important things in your life. You really don't want to mess it up by revealing said feelings for the blonde dragon slayer, but, at the same time, the next time Sorcerer Weekly does a gossip page about how the good natured white haired female mage and blonde dragon slayer are secretly dating you may lose your marbles and destroy approximately half a city."
Rogue simply blinked in utter amazement at Freed. Wondering for half a second if Freed was psychic and then being shocked by just how similar their situations were. "I've honestly never thought about it before, but, when you put it that way, we basically live the same life."
Freed smiled, "It's nice to finally have someone to relate to."
“How did you know I had feelings for Sting?”
“Well, that’s rather simple really, one day during the grand magic games I was looking over at you two, and I recognised the expression on your face as the exact same one I have for Laxus,” Rogue nodded along, impressed by Freed’s observational skills.
"What mixed signals does Laxus send you?" asked Rogue, his curiosity gaining control of his brain before his common sense could.
However, instead of saying that that was private information, Freed sighed, "I honestly don't know where to start. Countless things which are infuriatingly between protective friend and something more than friends: refusing to leave my bed side when I'm injured or ill, growling at any girl or guy that comes my way in a bar. Then, there are certain things he'll only let me do and not Evergreen or Bixlow. Like washing his hair or bandaging his injuries. Sometimes, we go on missions, just the two of us, and he doesn't really do that with Ever or Bix. I honestly don't know whether or not it's all in my head.
“For the longest time, I thought he didn’t feel anything for me, especially back before and during the battle of Fairy Tail, I was just a pawn to him. But when he came back to us after being away for so long he says things like “I thought about you everyday I was gone” and he brings me gifts and even flowers once and acts like it’s nothing out of the ordinary and it’s really driving me up the wall.”
Rogue nodded along, "It's a similar story with Sting and me. We've known each other since we were about four, so there's kind of this brotherly aspect to our relationship. It does not help that we are literally known as the 'Twin' Dragon Slayers. We've lived with one another since as long as I can remember and Sting does all these platonic bordering on something more actions. Like making me breakfast in bed sometimes, cooking me meals, cuddling on the sofa. This year, he even made a really elaborate meal on Valentine's day just for the two of us. The whole time I was stuck in limbo on whether to comment on what day it was. It's definitely making me lose my marbles."
"My, my, sounds like you have it even worse than I do," chuckled Freed.
"Oh, no way. At least Sting is easy to read, and, no offense, approachable. I think we both have our separate circles of hell."
"Indeed we do. Now, stop me if this plan sounds crazy, but if we were to start fake dating, perhaps that kind of a push would spur the two of them into action. I know it sounds kind of manipulative, and I can see it backfiring in several awful ways, but I also think it just might work."
Rogue was quite enjoying this new found comradery and thought that giving the plan a shot couldn't hurt, so replied, "It just might."
Freed beamed at him, "Excellent, well, I did actually want to study your magic, so how about we start there?"
Xxx
Rogue couldn't stop himself from giggling, and it was taking a great deal of self effort to stop himself from full on goggling at Sting and Laxus who were attempting to hide in a hedge.
"Do they really think we can't see them?" asked the shadow mage.
"I don't know, but Laxus looks ridiculous in that bush. It is not covering him at all," chuckled Freed .
"Does this mean our plan is working?" queried Rogue.
"I think so?” said Freed.
“Anyway, I should really get back to Sabertooth."
"Of course, thank you for coming out with me today; it was rather pleasant. Oh, and remember to follow the plan."
"Roger that," said Rogue and with that he reluctantly got on a train back to the guild.