AN: I went back to completely redo the first chapter, considering this was the first thing I ever wrote for fan fiction. Hopefully it's better now ; )

Also, keep in mind that I messed with some of the timing of the events that take place during the Grand Magic Games

Lucy felt the breeze blow through her blonde hair that was shining brilliantly in the sun with a shudder. She'd forgotten to wear a jacket despite all indications it would be a cooler day. Though, how cold she felt was the last thing on her mind. Primarily, she couldn't let the death of her father pass from her mind. It was still too new to her. Every time her mind wandered to the subject, she felt a dull pain in her heart.

Then again, maybe the weather did have a bit to do with how she felt. The view from where she sat gave an excellent preview of Crocus, which was full of life and movement due to the sunny weather. And that was just it; weren't you supposed to feel gloomy on a cloudy day and not a sunny one? And yet, there she sat, brooding over her life.

Lucy had even ditched Natsu and Happy just to get a moment to herself once their contrasting moods became too much for her. She just couldn't put up with their overbearing excitement.

It was her first day in Crocus and she was spending it sitting on a bench by herself.

Lucy nearly jumped when she heard what she thought to be an angry sigh as a man emerged from the path behind her. His face seemed to be riddled with surprise temporarily before he smiled slightly.

"Sorry, I didn't realize anyone was sitting here. I'm surprised you even found this place," he remarked.

Lucy's eyes widened for a second. "No, it's okay! I was just leaving!" She didn't want to stay there if this was a place he went to get away from life. She'd spent more than enough time on the bench anyways.

Lucy scrambled to gather her bags that she had placed down haphazardly before she was stopped.

"It's fine, you don't have to leave. In fact, would you mind if keep you company?" He asked her.

Lucy slowly lowered her arms, which were full of her possessions while she considered his offer. If she were to be honest with herself, she needed some sort of distraction to stop her moody thoughts from haunting her. So she shook her head yes.

The man smiled and Lucy swore it lit up the entire area it was so bright. "That's great," he commented before confidently walking to the bench and plopping down beside Lucy, who had sat back down.

Lucy wondered where that upset mood he'd been in had gone.

"I'm Sting," he offered, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Lucy," she replied.

"So what brings you to this spot? It's not exactly well known."

Lucy hesitated momentarily. "I needed a bit of a breather. What about you? You seem to be familiar with the area."

"I'm here for the games with my guild. It gets pretty damn serious with them when we're here to compete," he explained.

For the second time, Lucy's eyes widened. He was here for the games? Then what guild was he from? She didn't notice any guild marks on him earlier, and she didn't want to turn around on the bench to look. Most importantly, it was likely covered by the light jacket he was wearing.

"What guild are you from?" Lucy inquired while subtly covering up her guild mark. It wasn't that she was ashamed of Fairy Tail, on the contrary, she was beyond proud of her guild. It was just that she didn't have the energy for questions concerning Fairy Tail's decline in power.

"Sabertooth," Sting answered proudly, as though his guild was the best. Lucy couldn't exactly blame him for thinking so, considering she thought the same thing about her guild despite what had happened to them over the seven years she'd missed.

And, the name Sabertooth did sound extremely familiar. It'd been tossed around a few times while her guild was considering entering the games or not.

Wait, no. It couldn't be. They were considered the most powerful guild in Fiore currently!

And finally, the dreaded question came. "Are you here for the games too?" Sting questioned her.

If Lucy had a button that allowed her an immediate exit to the situation, she'd press it in a heartbeat. Why did he have to be from Sabertooth?!

"Yes," Lucy admitted cryptically.

"...And which guild are you a part of?"

"Fairytail," Lucy answered, inwardly tensing up at her own answer.

For the smallest second, he seemed surprised. Before Lucy could check to see again, Sting let out a sharp laugh.

"Hey!" Lucy remarked, ready to defend her guild.

"Sorry, sorry," Sting apologized, putting his hands up in a sign of sincerity. "It's just, Fairy Tail has done so horribly in the past years. What the hell happened to your guild anyways?"

And suddenly, Lucy's mind was transported back to all the horrors she'd encountered on Tenrou Island. Achnologia had to be one of the scariest encounters she'd ever had in her life, not to mention all the other battles she'd barely won. "I don't want to talk about it," Lucy whispered.

"Sorry I asked," Sting replied.

"It's alright. It's just a really touchy subject to all of us. You know how all those Fairy Tail members disappeared all those years ago?"

Sting nodded.

"I was one of them. I don't want to say anything else about it... It's just that it's been difficult ever since we got back."

"Well, how about instead of you moping about on this bench, we go get something to drink?" Sting suggested with a large smile taking over his face.

Lucy considered it for a moment. Surely Natsu and the other guild members would be wondering where she'd gone off to if she were to go with Sting. What was worse was that most of Fairy Tail absolutely despised Sabertooth. And yet, Lucy couldn't help but want to go with Sting because she felt a need to fix the aching hole in her heart that made itself present anytime she felt lonely. She didn't feel lonely with Sting currently, so it seemed like a good decision to make.

"Okay, let's go."

Okay, so maybe going with Sting wasn't the best idea after all. She'd nearly been seen by Lyon, Juvia and Gray while she and Sting were on their way to get a drink. Lucy had grabbed Sting's wrist and pulled them both into an alley hoping desperately that none of them had seen her. (They probably didn't considering the fact that all three were arguing while Gray was being dragged down the street by Juvia).

"What was that about?" Sting asked Lucy. "Couldn't wait to get to the bar?" He added on with a wink.

Lucy then became aware of how close they were to each other and took a step back. "What? No! I saw some of my guildmates and had to get out of the way. They hate Sabertooth," Lucy explained.

"Oh," was all Sting said, before regaining his smile. "We can avoid them from now on, besides, I think the feeling is mutual with my guild."

So then they continued on to the bar, this time, more cautious.

That night, the two spent their time with each other in the bar of a hotel. Sting immediately bought them drinks and proceeded to talk with Lucy for a while. Lucy told him lots of stories about Fairy Tail, about how they were a family through thick and thin, about their carefree spirits.

The Fairy Tail Lucy described to him sounded like the one he knew growing up. Seven years ago he admired them, but they quickly fell from his eyes when they were kicked out of their own guild hall and the stories of them stopped. He listened to her with rapt attention, more than interested in Fairy Tail's antics.

"What's it like in Sabertooth?" Lucy suddenly asked.

He winced, not really wanting to answer the question. Sabertooth was nothing like the carefree guild of Fairy Tail. It was all about power, nothing was permissible if it weakened the guild.

"It's... Alright? Our master focuses on power and nothing else, and it can be a bit harsh at times, but I like being powerful. It's why I joined," he explained.

She looked like she was deep in thought, then answered. "Do you have friends in your guild?"

"I have one... We've known each other for a long time and are very close. I'm not too close to the others, however. She smiled. At least he wasn't lonely, and his guild cared about him somewhat.

The two continued to drink through the night with chats about a random array of things. They got to know each other more and their demons were kept far from their conversations. They both had a personal problem plaguing them, but they'd rather forget about it for once. They both knew that the other person was a good way to forget that.

It must have been midnight at the point where Lucy said she needed to go, but Sting stopped her. "You shouldn't walk back this late. Stay at this inn tonight."

"My guild will be looking for me," She protested. Lucy knew what could happen if she went out by herself, but that didn't stop her from being nervous about her guild. What if they found her with Sting, a Sabertooth member?

"They'll see you tomorrow, don't worry about it," Sting told her.

"What if I don't have the jewel for it?" She challenged. For once in her life, she had quite a bit of spare jewel.

"I'll pay for you."

Her expression shifted to one of surprise. "We barely know each other, you'd do that for me?"
"I'd like to get to know you better, so yeah," he nodded.

Lucy's face heated up for the second time that night. 'Get to know her better?!' Was he thinking what she was thinking about? "I... Umm... I d-don't know what to say..." She sputtered. If there was any moment she could recall where she wanted more experience with men, it was then. Sadly, she'd never dated before.

Sting looked at her in confusion. Why the hell was the Fairy sputtering at a simple offer of jewel and getting to know each other- oh (italics). He probably should have worded that better.

"What I meant was further dates, but if you'd rather..." He wasn't about to turn down sleeping with someone if he had the chance. And Lucy certainly wasn't hard on the eyes.

"N-no! I mean no, I'd like to go on more dates," she exclaimed, desperately wishing her face would stop feeling like Natsu set it on fire. Lucy gave up protesting, knowing he was right and they left the bar. If Fairy Tail was worried about her, they should know she was capable of handling herself. She didn't want to cause them anxiety, but sometimes they were too much.
Sting turned to leave, but Lucy caught his hand. "Thank you, Sting. I had an amazing time tonight, and you really helped me. Maybe-"

Lucy was cut off by Sting grabbing hold of her shoulder and he captured her lips. She was surprised at first, but kissed back. They hadn't known each other for a while, and they had quite a bit to drink, but they mutually liked it, which that was enough. They both deepened the kiss, and Lucy almost found herself gasping for air.

"That was... Wow." She said.

There were times when she thought that she'd never get a boyfriend, times she spent reading romance novels or thinking about what it would be like. Now she was finally experiencing it, and it was breathtaking.

"Sting, stay with me here tonight," she said brightly.