Crystal Flowers

Author's Notes: Hooray for another early update of Crystal Flowers! Just got motivated because of a RoLu story I've read. And since you guys want RoLu, then here's a chapter for you. Full of RoLu shiz and all that, but not really romantic. By the way, take note of the important events of the story so you'll know why it's named Crystal Flowers. Oh and by the way, Sting will have his grand moment-ruining entrance in this story on the next chapter (I think). I need to add some StiLu here and there (not in this chappie though) to make sure both pairings are balance. That's all, I think again.

Important Notes: Changed the summary because the real one (presented in the first chapter) was too long. So the new one is here:

Summary: It all started from boredom, wherein our favorite celestial mage, Lucy Heartfilia, takes a solo mission. During her quest, she bumps to two people who she didn't think would change her life in an instant. And with certain circumstances, she becomes very close friends with them. Yet something's telling her that befriending them is a wrong choice when she's already falling in love.

Genre: Romance, Drama, Hurt/Comfort

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail is the property of Hiro Mashima and not mine to take.

Chapter Two

Meanwhile in Fairy Tail, Natsu Dragneel, accompanied by his blue exceed, Happy, walked weakly across the guild. The other members looked at him in confusion, since he looked really tired with dark circles under his eyes. His hair was a salmon pink mess and his clothes are really filthy. Happy's fur was unkempt and he had sleepy eyes which were about to close. While the cat was flying in the air, his direction wasn't straight but rather in a dizzy way.

"Oi ash breath! What's up with you and that setup?" a certain ice maker mage with raven hair asked from the sidelines. He looked at Natsu with disgust and extreme wonder.

The called fire wizard glared at him. "Shut up Gray! You don't know how it feels like to look for Lucy all day!" he yelled, earning some mischievous looks from the members and sly smirk from Mirajane who heard his shout. Gray eyed at him for a moment then scowled, going back to whatever he was doing.

'I've been through much worse looking for her, just so you know' Gray silently thought.

Natsu's pace slowed down until he sat clumsily on a stool beside the bar. He carelessly dropped his head on the counter. "Miraaa...Have you seen Lucy somewhere? I cannot find her anywhere and she's not even in her apartment. Lucy will never leave without me, you know? It feels weird without her" Natsu said solemnly, not even noticing how Mirajane was smiling at him like a crazy idiot.

"Oh you're looking for Lucy, too?" the white-haired take over mage asked, "She just left a few hours ago for a solo mission because she said she was bored"

Natsu blinked. Did she just say that Lucy took a mission all by herself? "What? But if she was bored, she'll ask me to go with her. Why would she want to go alone?" he asked, sighing. "Mira, do you know which mission she took? I want to help her out" he added, resting his chin on one hand.

"Natsu, you shouldn't interfere with Lucy's own adventure. She's strong so let her be" Mira scolded him, tapping her fingers on the wooden counter.

"That's right!" Gray agreed with Mirajane's comment, who appeared from their right side. Natsu raised his head and sent him a glare. "Lucy wouldn't go on a mission alone if it weren't for you destroying a city every time we go on one! Let Lucy take a solo mission if she wants to. After all, I reckon that she wouldn't like you suddenly in the same place as her. What are you a stalker?" Gray bitterly said, crossing his arms.

Happy, who nibbled on a fish that he got from who-knows-where, raised his paw in agreement. "Aye! Even if Lucy's weird she's still strong nonetheless so there's no need to worry!" the exceed said encouragingly.

The dragon slayer looked defeated and hesitantly agreed with them anyway. "Dammit, fine!" Natsu reluctantly huffed, ignoring the looks he got from other members and a furious glare from Gray.

Back in the middle top level of Mt. Hakobe lies an injured wyvern, a very bashful Lucy, a willing Rogue and a happy Frosch. They were making their way to the wyvern nests so they could bring the little beast back to its home and grab a crystal flower afterwards. Lucy and Rogue struggled to carry a young wobbling blizzardvern up to the top. Despite the strong cold wind that made them stop for a few seconds or so, they finally reached their nests, which is located in a dark cave a few levels below where Sting was.

The ground was a bit shaky, probably due to Sting fighting the vulcans. Rogue sweat dropped as he suddenly remembered his partner who was above them in some way. "Here we are. I sense two wyverns and some weak energy source that might be coming from their eggs in the cave. If this is the nest, then the crystal flowers might be blooming somewhere inside" Rogue smartly said.

Lucy nodded as an excited wyvern tucked in her left arm was now about to leap off them. "This little guy here looks jumpy," Lucy said, "It probably senses its parents here so we better be careful"

Rogue hummed in reply and they carefully entered the cave, Frosch trailing behind them. As they stopped, the intensity in the cave was increasing and Lucy felt nervous by the second. A long cold breeze came from the deeper parts and put a stop to their tracks. "It looks like they're already sensing our presence. We should prepare in case one suddenly attacks" Rogue warned, holding the small wyvern tighter.

"Grrrrnuuuump" it wailed loudly, which echoed through the cave, some dust showering down as the sound tickled the rocks.

The flowing air stopped, silence befalling. Rogue clenched his fists while Lucy held on to her keys. The wyvern tucked below them suddenly emitted a louder sound, making it a very big growl. Lucy and Rogue's eyes widened as the ground began to shake, but the wyvern and Frosch looked normal. From the darkness arrived two large wyverns, who roared and moved their giant jaws to where Lucy and Rogue were.

Their talons are already ready to strike, but the smaller wyvern stopped them with a snarl. Lucy and Rogue exchanged confused looks but then stared back at the scene. They carefully let go of the wyvern it wobbled to the two larger ones. It let out cute roars and nuzzled against the one of the larger wyverns' feet. Lucy, Rogue and Frosch smiled at the sight.

"Those two larger ones might be its parents and it might be telling them that we helped it" Rogue guessed, with Lucy nodding in agreement.

"Fro thinks so, too!" the green exceed exclaimed cheerfully as he landed on the ground and waved his webbed hands.

The now happy family of wyverns looked at the three in peace. Lucy decided to speak because she knew that wyverns are extremely smart. "Um, yeah, you're welcome, really," she said, Rogue looking at her with an amused smile, "I was hoping that you could help us find a crystal flower"

The two larger wyverns looked at each then back at Lucy, nodding at her. "Oh wow, thank you so much!" Lucy squealed and caught Rogue staring at her. Realizing that Lucy caught him, he quickly looked away and cannot help but smile at his own actions. Lucy blushed but shrugged it off.

'Why is he acting like this?' Lucy thought.

Rogue tried to put on a blank expression on his face but cannot get rid of the pink flush on his cheeks. 'Why amI acting like this?' Rogue thought to himself. He sighed and scratched the back of his head. Awkward silence was now the problem. Unfortunately, the wyverns in front of them could feel it as well, so they intelligently motioned the humans (plus cat) to follow them. Lucy, who seemed amazed by how witty the enormous beasts are, willingly followed, Frosch following after her, regardless of leaving Rogue behind.

The red-eyed dragon slayer finally snapped back to his senses when Lucy called for him. "Oh sorry I was just thinking of something" he truthfully said. Lucy nodded, convinced. Rogue looked around for something that could take the tension away and spotted something sparkling. "It looks like the wyverns lead us to where the crystal flowers are" he said.

Lucy looked at him then to where Rogue was gaping it. Her jaw dropped in amazement as a large bed of glimmering crystal-clear flowers bloomed yonder. "Wow...This is...This is so beautiful!" she rasped excitedly, Rogue cringing a little to her childish tone.

"Fro thinks so, too!" Frosch agreed with the blonde and stared in awe at the wonderful sight.

"Well? Go pick one. I thought you needed to deliver one" Rogue said, folding his arms as he watched Lucy do so.

Crouching down, she plucked one flower out then placed it safely in a small jar she got from her knapsack. For a flower, it fitted just right, much to Lucy's disappointed. She wanted to take some home, but unfortunately, she cannot take any more. 'Mental note: Bucket List #15: Dream guy giving me a bouquet of crystal flowers' she thought with a giggle, unaware that Rogue emitted a small snicker because of her.

'Again, Rogue? Really?' Rogue mentally slapped himself from acting too weird. 'Could it be that I...No, that's impossible. I only met the girl for only two or three times' he thought nervously.

Lucy sighed as she was done packing a single flower and placed the jar back to her bag. She stood up again and breather. All she need to do now was bring back the crystal flower to Winter. She walked back to Rogue as Frosch was already back with him. "Thank you for your help Rogue. I really appreciate it," Lucy sincerely thanked him. She turned to the family of blizzardverns. "And thank you, too for your kindness"

The trio exited the cave in silence and the cold wind once again blew, welcoming them back outside. Lucy shivered a little which Rogue raised an eyebrow at. "Achoo!" she sneezed, her face turning red. Lucy embraced herself and Frosch looked at her in worry.

"Miss Fairy Lucy are you okay?" the caring exceed asked, making Lucy smile a little.

Lucy sniffed and nodded, her cheeks flushing. "Y-yeah," she stuttered, then sneezed again. This time, it was Rogue who asked is she's alright. "It's nothing but a mere cold anyways. I'm fine" she assured them both. 'I should've listened to Winter, damn it' she thought.

But the Shadow Dragon Slayer didn't seem convinced so he took his cape off. By the time Lucy realized his actions, Rogue already placed the cape around Lucy. "There you go," he said, "I can stand this cold anyway, you can have it". Lucy blushed then sneezed again, causing her to clasp the cape close and shiver more. But something was telling Rogue that the cape wasn't enough. 'Body heat~' a voice in his head teased and his eyes widened.

"R-Rogue? Thank you f-for this b-but I'll make it up to y-you" Lucy's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Huh? No! There's no need t-to" he stammered a bit, mentally punching himself to death, "It's fine, really! It's better than you getting sick"

Frosch nodded, agreeing to the dragon slayer's statement. "You're so kind. No offense, but I don't expect this one coming from a Tiger" she said slowly as they started to walk.

"Truth be told, I never expected this either" he said quietly.

Another awkward silence, rather than the sounds of their feet sweeping off snow as they stepped. Lucy's quivering got worse and Rogue noticed, feeling a bit uneasy. He thought twice about that body heat thing, but blushed every time he did so. Rogue glanced at Lucy, a blank expression on his face, and saw her cheeks getting red (probably because she's cold). He started to worry and he did what his instincts told him to do. Rogue involuntarily placed an arm around Lucy and pulled her close.

"R-Rogue?" Lucy managed to say, her voice shaking and she felt her face heat up.

The said man gave her a reassuring smile. "Body heat" he said.

Author's Final Rant:

HAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh right I'm sorry about that! I just needed to put that body heat thing in there and I can't prevent myself from tearing up! Okay. That was awkward. Oh shnaps, you might think I'm pretty weird now. Sorry.

Anyways, I have to stop it on that part and hopefully make Sting's grand entrance by the next chapter~ I will have to ruin your ROLU HEARTS! MWAHAHAHAHAHA! Just kidding. Oh wait maybe I'm not. Well maybe I am. Wait, what?

Enough of this ranting! Hope you enjoyed.

If you like this chapter, drop a review, please? And don't forget to check out my other story: Learn to Love Again. It's a ZerCy/ZerLu/Zeref x Lucy fan fiction.

Thanks, everyone! Vanilla...OUT!