REMINDER: THE '*' SIGNALS WHEN TO PLAY THE MUSIC!!

A/N - SEE??? I CAN'T WRITE AN ARC THAT LASTS MORE THAN TWO CHAPTERS!!! Someone give me tips. Please.

R e c a p

Why, (Y/N)? He asked. Why did you leave me in the dark?

------------------------------

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

"Is she awake?"

Beep!
Beep!
Beep!

"Her heartbeat's accelerating!"

You groan a bit, still listening to the voices.

"She's awake!"

Then, filled with a growing curiosity, your eyes open.

Your vision is blurry for a good few seconds, but once you can see clearly, it all gets blurry from all your tears. "Yukino..." You murmur, crying happily.

She hugs you, and you can almost hear the smile in her voice as she murmurs your name.

After she finally pulls away, you start conversing. "It's been so long,"

She nods in agreement. "What happened to you?"

And with her question, you fall silent, looking down as she realizes you've been greatly traumatized. You swallow the lump in your throat, looking back up at her to ask, "How are the others?"

"G-good." She replies. "Sting has been worried nonstop about you, but recently... he's been locked up in his room."

You blush a bit, asking, "When can I see him?"

"I can go get him right now, and besides, everyone else hasn't seen you!" She waves a short goodbye, and exits the room, shouting, "Minna-San! (Y/N)'s awake!" [when she says "minna", (everyone), she's referring to Mermaid Heel. Let's just say she was visiting because Fairy Tail doesn't get into the plot 'till later]

There's loud clamoring and in a split second, you're being ambushed by hugs. It hurts, but... who needs to feel pain when you have your friends by your side, easing it all away?

-----

He was sure of it. He had sworn that he, Sting Eucliffe, was going to stay out of (Y/N)'s way. But when the snow-haired girl came running to him, claiming that she was awake...

He lost it. He came sprinting over, wanting to see her. A full year, he thought to himself. Has it really been that long?

He shut off his lacrima vision that played the Grand Magic Games, (which he would later regret for certain reasons) and was off to [whatever city Mermaid Heel is in].

---

He pushed open the doors, completely forgetting that he was intruding on an all-females guild. Panting and sweating, he asked frantically, "Where's (Y/N)?"

"She's in the infirmary, dumbass." A girl snickered.

He flinched, catching a scent. He didn't say a thing, but dashed to the source.

And he stood there, stiff as a stone as he saw her laughing and conversing casually with some other girls. Yukino walked in behind him, speaking a soft, "(Y/N)." And then gesturing to him.

-----

Your head turns, your (e/c) orbs swiveling to the side to gaze at the direction Yukino had gestured to. Dark, ocean blue eyes meet your (e/c) ones. You smile, having already cried too many tears. Time seems to stand still as his eyes widen, and the corners of your mouth waver, trying to hold back impromptu tears.

"It's been a while, hasn't it," you say, "Sting-Kun?"

"Stop using honorifics for my name already," he murmurs, smiling.

And in that moment, it seemed no one was there but the two of you. He surges forward, his arms open. And you throw yourself into them, giggling softly as his one earring gently bops your nose. You look at each other for a few seconds, and before you're able to take anything in, you lock lips with him. Although it's a short kiss, a strange feeling erupts inside of you, a feeling being rediscovered after its loss in Erebus Blood's chambers. This, is love.

A warm something hits your face, and you realize Sting is crying, his tears dropping into your face as you kiss. He pulls away, wiping his tears after doing so to you. He flashes a toothy grin, the one you've missed oh-so-very-much.

---

Afterwards, you bid farewell to your friends in Mermaid Heel to go over to Sabertooth with Sting. You're now in Hargeon, the in between of the towns home to Fairy Tail, to the north, and Sabertooth, to the northeast. It was now raining rather heavily, and you and Sting shared an umbrella. You wore a hooded cloak over your clothes, and he wore his normal attire. Typical Sting.

*He wanders over to a shop window, and as he does, you look over to an alley. In it, stands a man with sandy, almost beige-blond hair. He stood in the rain, no hood or coat. He hid his mouth and part of his nose in a mask, so the only other facial feature you could see was his right eye, a yellow one... it kind of reminded you of...

Before you were aware of it, you were walking towards the figure. Stepping into the rain, you reach out to the figure, as if to check if he was real or not. He, extraordinarily, does the same, and your hands meet, intertwining themselves.

Almost as though on cue, you speak his name whilst he speaks yours.

"Roran."
"(Y/N)."

You don't feel a loathing. You don't feel hatred. Yet... you feel pity.

"Why do I feel this way?" You ask subconsciously, staring into his seemingly golden eye, your hand still linked in his. He doesn't respond. There's a harsh blow of wind, and for the first time... his eyes show sadness.

No, not just that... a longing. A distant pain, something so close, yet so far.

"I see her in you," he murmurs, his voice filled with sorrow. "Arielle."

"Then," you start, "if it makes you happier, then... keep looking at me." You don't know what caused you to say it, but this man... he was like the father you never had. You no longer looked at him as the leader of Erebus Blood, you were just staring at a man who missed his deceased lover.

"She... she fell in love with him." Roran confesses. "She ran off to him. I'd made a foolish mistake, I..."

He continues to spill out his emotion, still looking straight at you. "She left me, then sent a letter asking to come back... but she had left." His red eye seems to be pulsing with a foreign emotion, an endless eternity of pain, depression, and desperation. "She... she left this world. You were born from her, but carried his blood. But even so... I called you a mistake child. I see so much of her in your eyes..."

"I..." you look down to the ground for a second, then turn back to let him gaze at you. "I never liked my father... it seemed we were distant from the moment I was born. It was all a fake love, and... I never had a father figure in my life."

His eyes seem younger as he suggests, "How about... we can be a family?" You can't see his mouth, but his eyes show a small smile. "Me and you. Arielle will be watching from up there, and we could be a family... together."

"You know how stupid that sounds?" You ask, smiling. "You practically kidnapped me, held me captive for a year and then used my magic as a supply of energy."

He looks sad now. He speaks once more, his voice sincere. "I have a demonic side, one that resents Arielle for abandoning me and then trying to come back... that's why my right eye is red."

You nod, understanding. You let go of his hand, and stare down. "As much as the idea of family tempts me... I'll have to decline that offer." You keep your gaze at the ground, not wanting to see his expression. "I'm not ready yet, but... maybe one day."

You look back up, and you're still certain that he heard what you said, though he disappeared.

Then you're there alone... Standing in the rain.

A/N - I made it an extra two hundred words long, but IT WAS WORTH IT!

Idk what was going through my mind when I wrote this, I just wanted something to add sad music to and crush people's feelings..

Yeah, I'm weird. It's like I'm talking to myself when I do these Author's Notes because these are all drafts..

But seriously, I think my writing has improved a bit. Just a bit. Don't you think? You could compare chapter 1 to chapter 20 and find some huge improvements. Well at least I think so. I just took like, three classes on story writing, so... if I haven't improved at least a teeny bit, then there's something wrong with me.

~Em