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‘’So when are you and Sting finally gonna admit you’re dating?”
‘’We’re not dating.”
This conversation with Minerva compelled Yukino to think about her and Sting. They weren’t dating but they spent a lot of time together. And they didn't go out of their way looking to date someone.
Were they friends? But did friends share clothes? No, they couldn't be just friends. She doesn’t meet up with her other friends every other Friday to have a (platonic) date in the most romantic place in town filled with couples.
She doesn't have friends that fall asleep at her place enough times to have a food bill of their own, a drawer of their clothes, and a toothbrush in the bathroom. And friends aren’t so devoted that they give her a bouquet of her favorite flowers when she’s upset. This happens only between her and Sting.
But they also definitely weren’t dating. She would know if they were. Couples don't pull away after hugging for a little too long. They don't stare at each other with so much longing in their eyes. And surely they don't share lingering glances that mean something more than just friendship.
The lingering glances that they share, the hugs that last a little too long for friends, and how Sting sleeps over her place so often that she’s considered giving him a spare key for nights when she’s out of town (though she opted out because that would be crossing a line that is already so blur).
The tension that's always floating above them like a thundercloud ready to burst at any moment definitely doesn't mean they’re just friends. They’re something more but Yukino can’t really put her finger on it.
There wasn’t always this much tension between them. They were like normal friends. Though she’s embarrassed to admit it, things changed after the war. Things changed specifically after the night they celebrated their win with all the other guilds in the royal capital.
She remembers it like it was yesterday.
She was walking back to her hotel room with Sting that night after a few drinks. Her and Sting were walking with their fingers brushing each other every few minutes in a comfortable silence. It was a long night of celebration and happiness with the threat looming over the world finally gone and done.
She was glad it was finally over. War is never pretty and it is especially not so when mages are involved. She still gets nightmares from the time she was crucified along with her members. When she looks over at Sting, he’s deep in his thoughts and she can't help but giggle out loud when she sees him so serious. It’s cute. He’s cute when he looks like that. Sting looks over at her and raises his eyebrows as if to ask what’s making her laugh.
‘’It's just you, sting.’’ she says, ‘’You look so cute when you’re concentrated.’’
‘’That so?’’ Sting asked, amused at her boldness.‘’Maybe I should do it more since Yukino thinks I’m so cute.’’ He laughed looking at her flushed face.
‘’Sting!” she shouts. “It's because of the lighting, it's not you.”
‘‘Ok, I get it. Now don't be mad. C'mon look at me” he laughs. It was so fun teasing her like that.
‘’What were you thinking about, anyway?” She looks at him flustered, the dim lighting of the streets does nothing to hide her flushed appearance.
‘’Hmm…” Sting grins. ‘’I was thinking about you, Yukino. It's not every day I get to walk with you on a nice night like this.”
‘’Oh cmon, I know you’re just saying that.” Yukino chuckled, ‘’You’re the most eligible wizard in Fiore after all. I’m sure you say that to plenty of girls prettier than me, Sting.”
‘’I'm hurt Yukino, I only say that to you,’’ he says seriously with a hint of hurt in his voice. ‘’So the other girls can keep dreaming since they ain’t you.”
Yukino flushes bright red.’’S-Sting, you shouldn’t say that to your friends. I might misunderstand’’ she mutters the last part hoping he doesn’t hear but of course he does. He’s a dragon slayer after all.
‘’But you’re not just a friend to me, Yukino,’’ Sting says, holding her hand and leaning into her so much that their foreheads touch. If one of them were to move even a little they'd be kissing. ‘’You’re more than…. Just a friend.”
‘’Sorry.” He pulls away from her when he realizes how close he is to her. ‘’But it's the truth, Yukino. You mean more to me than just a friend,’’ he says with so much seriousness she almost believes him. She wants to believe him but something is holding her back.
Fear. Fear is holding her back. Fear that If they do get together and If they break up, she won’t know how to handle herself or how to go back to their normal routine of being just friends. And she knows fear is the same thing holding Sting back from confessing. He surely wouldn't want to ruin what they had built after the whole excommunicated from the guild fiasco.
That’s why she doesn’t say anything and simply holds his hand and walks back with him to their hotel room.
After that night, they became something more than friends but they were still not a couple, neither of them was ready. Too scared to ruin what they have now. They were something in between the lines of a romantic relationship and a platonic relationship.
She’s quite honestly tired of what she and Sting have going on. It feels suffocating at times. She doesn’t know if she should be treating him like her boyfriend or just any other friend. She wants to know where she stands and she wants to put a label on their relationship which sounds terrible when she thinks about it out loud but honestly, she doesn’t care. She’s getting tired of pretending they’re only friends and nothing more.
Because to her, Sting was someone she was hopelessly in love with. And she thinks it's about time she starts acting like it.
Yukino sighs and looks towards the man causing these thoughts. He looks so radiant when he’s out of his office and free from paperwork. She rarely gets to see Sting smiling like this without a care in the world when the magic council’s always on his ass for the destruction Sabertooth causes.
She doesn't notice Sting coming closer and closer towards her, too lost in her thoughts to spare another glance. She only notices when Sting pulls the chair in front of her and sits on it.
‘’What are you thinking about so much that it's making you upset, Yukino?” Sting says furrowing his brows. He hasn’t seen her with that serious look for a very long time. If the always smiling Yukino with rosy cheeks was thinking so seriously that she didn’t see him coming towards her, it means trouble.
‘’I’ve just been thinking, Sting” She stands up abruptly. ‘’Do you have a minute? I want to talk to you about something,” She glances at the crowded guild and then back at him. ‘’Privately.”
“Sure.” Sting gulps and stands up at her side. “Where do you wanna go?”
‘’Your office is fine, Sting,” She says and wordlessly walks towards his office on the second floor.
Sting follows closely behind her and he’s sweating. Did she finally notice his moves on her? Of course, she did. He basically confessed that night. And was she going to tell him she wants him to stop and they could never be anything more than friends after what happened in the past? That would be horrible. If that did happen, he would simply lock himself up until he was ready to face her.
Sting stops in his tracks when he lets the most terrifying thought sink into his heart and it entices fear in him. Was Yukino going to leave the guild? Was she going to ask him to remove her guild mark? He looks at her and pictures her leaving the guild with the biggest smile on her face.
‘’Come on, Sting. We’re here.” He snaps out of his trance when he sees Yukino open the door. Sting gulps dreadfully walking into the room but he does anyway since Yukino asked him to.
He would do anything she asked for even if it meant she would ask him to let her go.
‘’I think we should sit down for this, Sting.” Yukino sighs, taking his hand and sitting on the couch. He’s sure she’s gonna leave the guild now and go to Lucy or to Kagura maybe even at that creep Ichiya’s guild and he cringes at the sight of Ichiya’s stupid face.
‘’So,’’ Yukino starts still holding his hand. “I’ve been thinking about this a lot and I think it's for the best if—“
‘’Hold on, can't we just talk about this?’’ He interrupts her. ‘’I can call a meeting and we can all solve it together. You don't have to leave–”
‘’Sting–” Yukino tries to interrupt him.
“Is someone making you uncomfortable, Yukino? Just tell me and I'll kick ‘em out,” He says, pinching his forehead. ‘’I just wish you wouldn’t lea-”
‘’Sting!” She shouts. ‘’Who said anything about me leaving the guild?”
‘’But you said you have to talk to me about something, privately.” Sting says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. As if Yukino would only talk to him privately about leaving the guild.
‘’No, Sting” She sighs and this time it's her turn to pinch her forehead. ‘’I like it here, Sting. I would never leave unless..." She teases himm. "you wanted me to?”
“NO” Sting shouts. ‘’It's just that I just thought you were going to because… well, never mind what is it you wanted to talk about?”
‘’It's…” Her mouth goes dry and she thinks maybe it's better to let things be this way but when She feels Sting's warm gaze and the way he’s holding her hand so lovingly, She breathes deeply and continues. ‘’Us. I want to talk about us.”
‘’Yeah?” Sting asks, confused. ‘’What about us?”
‘’This, Us.” She points to their intertwined fingers. ”What are we, Sting? Are we friends or are we dating?”
Sting freezes. He doesn't know what to say. She’s looking at him with her glossy eyes and he doesn't know what she wants the answer to be so he simply replies with a tilt of his head and ‘’Whatever you want us to be, Yukino.”
‘’I’m tired of this sting. I don't want to keep walking on eggshells around you.’’ Her voice cracks with emotion as a few tears run down her cheek ‘’One moment you treat me like you treat your other friends and the next you’re looking at me like I hung up the stars and the moons for you.’’
‘’I-I’m sorry, Yukino, I didn’t know you were feeling like that.’’ Sting wipes her tears with his hands and hugs her. Seeing her cry like this because of him hurts him more than any painful experience he’s gone through and he feels tears prickling at his own eyes. ‘’I love you, Yukino.” he finally says and Yukino cries even harder.
‘’Why didn’t you tell me, you idiot?’’ Yukino wraps her arms around his neck and He returns her hug. ‘’You’re so mean. So stupid.’’
‘’I know. I’m sorry. I was scared I'd ruin what we have now if I told you. After all that happened, I didn’t want to lose you a second time.’’ He admits. ’’Look at me. I’ve gone and made such a pretty girl cry over me.”
‘’I’m sorry for making you cry too.” She pulls away from his arms and wipes his teary eyes. He didn't even realize when he started crying, ‘’I love you too, Sting. I was afraid I’d ruin what we have now, too.”
‘’I wish I'd told you sooner like Rogue told me to.” Sting chuckles, looking at her fondly. ‘’We could have been dating for weeks now, if I listened’’
‘’Don't look at me, sting.” Yukino closes his eyes with her hands when she realizes what she might look like now with her tear-stained, red-nosed face and her hair flying everywhere. ‘’I look so ugly right now.’’
‘’No, you don’t.’’ He removes her hands from his eyes and kisses her palms. ‘’You’re the most beautiful person to me.”
The combined confession and kisses on her palms with those determined eyes of his make her legs go weak and her face hot and red. With the way Sting's looking at her, she thinks she might faint on the spot.
( but she knows he’ll take of her anyway if that happens)