Hey everyone it's me. I am so sorry I have been gone so long. I just wanted to let you know that this is a rewritten replacement chapter for chapter 11. I rushed that chapter when I wrote it and it has been bugging me ever since to fix it and make it what it should be. I'm back on the ball and you should hear from me again soon!

I was sitting in the in the kitchen paging through an old book and enjoying the peace and quiet of an empty house when Rogue walked in. He had woken up early this morning to go train with Orga by the beach. From the looks of him and the fact that I heard no explosions or had the Rune Knights come and bust the door down meant that things must have gone pretty well.

"How was training?" I asked.

He glanced at me and then to the book in my hands, smirking as he noticed it was one of the ones he had given me as a home warming gift when we all moved into the house, "How's the book?" he asked evading my question.

I smiled at him and leaned back in my chair, tucking a napkin between the pages to hold my place. I was already more than half way done with the novel, devouring its seven hundred and eighty-two pages like it was a children's book. "Really good. The characters are brave and funny, and the plot is unlike anything I've yet to read."

Rogue nodded and ran his fingers through his inky hair, pulling the dark strands into a ponytail. For a moment, I caught a glimpse of both eyes and the faint scar that crossed the right side of his face and over the bridge of his nose. I narrowed my eyes at the sight of it and when he noticed he was quick to let his bangs drop back over the right side of his face, hiding all but a tip of the scar. "Training was good. Would you like some tea?"

I ignored his question for the moment, "Orga didn't give that to you today, did he?"

Rogue answered after a moment, "No," and a few seconds later, "Tea?"

"Because if he did, I'll kick his ass on your behalf."

A rare laugh burst from Rogue at the idea of little ol me going toe to toe with the burly Lightning God Slayer. My petite hight barely reached the middle of his expansive chest; all of us were curious so we measured one day. I reached Rufus' shoulder, a little above it when I wear my boots, and I just brushed Sting and Rogue's chins as they were practically the same height. Being the shortest was something I had come to accept over the years.

I laughed a little myself at the thought of fighting the large man. We had practiced together before and he crushed me like a bug; I had had bruises on my legs and back for almost two weeks after. But that was back when we had found him and Rufus in the lighthouse and I have become a lot stronger since then.

Who knows, maybe now I actually stood a chance. I would have to ask him to spar next time we practice together.

I waved him off between giggles, "If you don't want to tell me you don't have too," He looked faintly surprised at that, "And yes, I would love a cup of tea."

"Any kind in particular?" Rogue inquired, glad to be moving past the topic of his scar. I knew in time he would tell me, so I wouldn't push. He rinsed his hands in the sink before filling the black enamel kettle and placing it on the burner.

"I'll have whatever you're having," I answered, flipping my book back open and picking up where I left off. I could hear Rogue rattling around in the kitchen looking for the tea and mugs before the water boiled. "Cabinet on your left," I suggested, smirking when I heard his irritated growl and the distinctive sound of two mugs being set on the counter top.

My mind wasn't on the book in front of me and it took me a few minutes to realize that I was reading and rereading the same paragraph over and over again. Something about Rogue's scar bothered me, and it wasn't that it stretched over the right side of his face; I had gotten used to seeing the various facial scars the members of Fairy Tail bore almost as soon as I joined the guild. No, it was the fact that he wanted to keep it hidden.

Which, I mean, I guess I understood. It wasn't like I was out parading around my scars for everyone to see, though I did always receive a number of concerned looks when I go down to the beach and all the families and children see the three jagged scars ripping down my back. I had gotten in the habit of tuning them out, but there were still times when one of the boys would accidentally walk in on me changing and scowl at the furious pink lines marring the creamy skin of my back.

I didn't really give them much though anymore, though; it had been so long since I was attacked and like any other assault, I did what I could to move past the event and get on with my life. That doesn't mean I don't feel the eyes watching from the shadows on rainy days or wake up drenched in sweat after one of their twisted nightmares. I just did what I had too to prevent something similar from happening in the future.

I was serious when I told Rogue he didn't have to explain if he didn't want too but that didn't mean I wasn't still super curious.

"Three sugars right?" Rogue's question broke through my train of thought.

"Uh, no," He glanced over his shoulder and I quickly corrected, "No sugar, it tastes to artificial. Do we have any honey?"

Rogue had to rummage through the pantry for a moment before finding the crystalized jar of sticky golden liquid. "Yes, but I don't know if any of this is salvageable." He jabbed a spoon at the hardened honey and snickered as the force he was using bent the head of the spoon backwards. He glared at me as I got up from the table and plucked the jar and spoon from his hands.

"Is there any hot water left?" I asked, noticing our steaming mugs of pale green tea.

"Not much,"

I lifted the kettle and sloshed it around a little, "This will do. Let me show you a trick." I grabbed a glass bowl from the cabinet and poured the remaining water into it. I gestured for Rogue to come closer and handed him the jar of honey. The Shadow Dragon Slayer gave me a blank look as he fiddled with the jar, his snake like eyes flicking between the hot water, the jar, and me. "Look," I placed my hand over his and the jar, "Honey is supersaturated with sugar and when it isn't used fast enough the molecules start sticking together which is why it crystallizes. To reverse the process, all you have to do is heat it back up and it will go back to how it was before."

"Like this?" Rogue asked as I guided his hand to place the jar in the water.

"Yep! Now you just have to wait a few minutes and stir it occasionally." We stood there, watching as the honey slowly reverted back to its liquid form.

I enjoyed the quiet that stretched between the two of us. It had always been so loud before, it seemed almost no one in Fairy Tail knew what silence was and always felt the need to fill a quiet moment with talking or fighting, except for Levy. My bookworm of a best friend was the only person I could sit with in silence for hours and not feel weird about it. However the constant chatter of the guild hall began to wear away at a persons nerves, but this… "This is nice,"

"Mmm," Rogue agreed. I could fee his eyes on me, searching, almost as if he was looking for something. I didn't realize my hand was still on his until he flipped his grip and threaded our fingers together.

I guess he found what he was looking for.

I gave his hand a light squeeze and went to grab the honey jar out of the water, not realizing my mistake until it was too late. I hissed in pain and quickly dropped the scalding jar. The glass shattered and bounced away across the floor like tiny stars, and the honey spread into a gooey golden pile at my feet. "Ow, ow, ow," I whined waving my hand frantically around, trying to cool off the angry red burn that was starting to blister at my fingertips. "I guess I'll take that regular sugar now," I bit my lip as lightning zips of pain made themselves known with every movement.

"Here," Rogue murmured, worry flashing in his visible eye, "May I?" He asked as he grabbed my burned hand. I winced, but it quickly turned to a sigh as Rogue sucked the heat right out of my hand. A sphere of shadows licked at my palm and fingers, curling like tendrils of mist, cool and soothing.

"I forgot your Shadow magic worked that way," I sighed in relief. Rogue's magic danced over my palm a moment more and then started probing further and further up my arm, until it stopped at the crook of my neck and tickled the skin there. A delicious chill shivered down my spine and I found myself missing the sensation as Rogue quickly dispersed his magic. I watched in fascination as droplets of darkness slithered across the kitchen floor to join with the shadows under the cabinets and in the corners of the room.

"Sorry," Rogue mumbled, ruffling the back of his head and dislodging more hair from his ponytail. "My magic doesn't usually act like that."

I dismissed his apology with a wave of my now healed, well, no longer burned, hand. The tips of my fingers were a shiny pink, Rogue's magic only absorbed the heat, his magic just enough to prevent the burn from becoming worse but not actually healing my skin. "Don't worry about it," I crouched down and picked up a few of the larger pieces of the jar. I let honey drip off of a shard before adding it to the stack in my hand, "Especially since you practically healed my hand." I threw the pieces in the garbage.

Rogue shrugged, "You would have done the same for me,"

"Still," I said, grabbing the broom as he scooped up a large good of honey, "I owe you one,"

I swept up the little glass bits as Rogue made quick work of the honey. It seemed his shadows had a taste for sweets and instead of mopping it away, his shadows dissolved the mess in a matter of seconds.

I threw out the remainder of the glass and glanced at our now cold cups of tea sitting forgotten on the counter. "What should we do with these?" I asked, picking up what would have been my glass. An idea hit me, "We could turn it into iced tea!"

"Sure," Rogue agreed.

I grabbed a couple ice cubes from the freezer and dropped them into our mugs along with a squirt of fresh lemon juice. Rogue held up the sugar, knowing the tea would be bitter and I sighed in defeat before spooning some into both our glasses.

"There," I said, pulling the stirring spoon out of my glass and tossing it in the sink. I took a tentative sip and sighed as the cool liquid dropped into my stomach. It was just sweet enough to balance out the bitter tea and the acid from the lemon.

Rogue followed me back to the table, quietly drinking his tea as he took the seat opposite me.

I had just flicked my book back open when Rogue began speaking.

"You don't owe me anything, you know." He spoke quietly. I quirked an eyebrow at him, urging him to continue. He shrugged and stated simply, "You've done so much for me, for Sting, even for Orga and Rufus that there is no way that you could ever owe any of us anything," He paused and took a sip of tea, "I've seen the looks in all their eyes. I can't remember the last time I've seen any of them truly happy." Rogue raked his eyes over me, "That is, until they met you."

I blushed slightly and tried to hide it behind my tea, "Rogue…"

"I'm serious. Orga laughed during our training today. Rufus had a faint smile on his lips the last time you two were reading in the study together. Sting teases you every time he's around you, and you," He met and held my gaze, "You glow,"

"And you?" I bit the inside of my cheek the moment the words escaped my lips.

Rogue eyed me, "I have never spoken so much or so freely to anyone before."

My blush deepened as I realized that he meant it, "Where is all this coming from?"

Again he shrugged, "It's the truth. It's been a long time since any of us have been this happy?"

"You're all happy here? With me?" I asked in surprise, I had figured it was enough for Orga and Rufus, a sort of contentment that came from having a place to call home after being kicked out of one. But I had never gone as far as to say they were expressly happy.

Rogue nodded, smiling slightly at my look of awe. I leaned back in my chair, a feeling of joy bursting behind my breastbone.

I don't even know why it surprised me so much, but I guess after Natsu kicked me off the team, I found it hard to think that anyone would be happy in my company for very long.

I leaned back in my chair studying the man across from me, "Thanks," I said, "I didn't realize that I needed to hear that."

Rogue tipped his head in my direction in acknowledgement before getting up and putting his empty mug in the sink. I continued sipping away at my cold drink and reading my book as he did a quick clean up of the kitchen. He disappeared for a moment and returned to the table with a book of his own. We spent the rest of the afternoon together reading and basking like cats in the warm sunlight streaming through the window.

At some point, Rogue made the two of us lunch which we ate in silence. Simple turkey sandwiches with sliced apples and peanut butter.

Eventually Orga and Rufus wandered through the door, sweaty and tired, gave us one look, and went to go shower off the sand and sweat before dinner. Rufus came down about thirty minutes later, his long hair damp and a book tucked under his arm. I smiled a greeting and he tipped his head as I kicked a chair out from under the table for him to join us. From the loud snores I could hear echoing down from upstairs, I guessed that Orga had decided to take a quick nap.

The three of us sat around our little kitchen table and read. Rufus finished his book and went to grab another and was half way through that when I finally finished the monster book Rogue had given me. It was as good as I though it would be.

With a satisfied smile, I swung my arms above my head and gave a back popping stretch, twisting side to side to work out the stiffness from sitting all day.

I wandered into the kitchen, figuring now would be as good a time as any to start dinner, and began pulling various meats and vegetables from the fridge, and a large pitcher from above the stove. It took a few minutes but soon I was placing a pitcher of lemonade on the table between Rufus and Rogue along with two glasses of ice.

I returned to the kitchen, hearing their quiet "thank you," follow me.

I pulled out a cutting board and a sharp knife and placed the first of five steak fillets on it. I pulled my knife through the meat to make one inch diced cubes which I tossed into a bowl along with some rosemary, dijon, garlic, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and a splash of left over lemon juice. I set that to the side and made a similar marinade for the diced chicken with tarragon, soy, and some lemon, orange, and lime zest.

I popped both the chicken and steak marinades in the fridge. It was quickly coming back to me why I enjoyed cooking so much. Growing up, I had always had my meals prepared by a professional and I was, under no circumstance, allowed in the Estate kitchen. I rinsed the bell peppers and onions in the sink. I honed the knife and began slicing them into pieces as well.

Once I joined Fairy Tail and had my own apartment I was able to start cooking for myself and found I had quite an affinity for it. But since I spent a majority of my time at the guild and Natsu always ate all my food, I never got the chance to cook much for myself. So now, when I had the chance, I would cook for the boys, or Rogue and I would share the kitchen and prepare the meals together.

"Rufus, Rogue," I called and heard the scrape of chairs on wood as they came and joined me in the kitchen. I handed both of them a handful of pointy metal skewers and grabbed the marinated meats out of the fridge. "Orga!" I yelled, knowing he would hear me and wake up. "Dinner!" I saw Rogue cringe at the volume and gave him a sheepish, "Sorry."

Orga stumbled in a minute later, his finger in his ear and his hair flying every which way. "Food?" He growled and I handed him his own skewers.

"Shish kabobs," I told him and the others.

As they worked on spearing a combination of vegetables and meat on their skewers, I stepped out back and lit the grill.

I popped my head back through the door a few minutes later when it was up to temperature, "Ready?"

"Indeed," Rufus answered, following me outside with a plate stacked high with raw food. Orga and Rogue stepped out after him and relaxed against the wall and found a seat on the step. The salty sea air was soon perfumed with the rich scents of cooking, sizzling food. The evening sun caught the strands of my hair and turned them into a glowing gold. I brushed a strand behind my ear and turned the kabobs.

I asked over my shoulder, "Anyone heard from Sting today?" The Light Dragon Slayer had picked up a solo mission from the miscellaneous jobs posted at city hall yesterday. It was nothing too difficult and he had let me know it wouldn't take him long before running to catch the train.

"He called using the lacrima this morning," Rogue answered. "Sounded like he was going to try to make it home tonight."

"Ha. Yeah," Orga agreed, "He told us to save him some dinner or he would flay us,"

"Sounds like Sting," I laughed.

The five of us took a rotation of solo and group jobs from the town to keep our magic and skills sharp and keep a savings on hand incase something happened. I had yet to go on a solo, Sting and Rogue are uneasy with the idea of be being alone on a job without them and Rufus and Orga backed them, saying I just needed a little more time training. I flipped the skewers a final time. Occasionally all five of us would take a job together but Cedar isn't a big mage town like Magnolia so those are few and far between.

Maybe I would talk to Sting and Rogue again soon about taking a solo. I had been training just about every day with one of the boys to improve my skills and I was starting to feel stronger. Like it was finally my time to show what I could do.

I pulled the kabobs from the stove and turned it off. We dug into the food while it was hot, not bothering with plates and instead just eating it right off the skewer. Rufus disappeared inside for a moment and came back out with the pitcher of lemonade and some cups.

I was reaching for the last kabob when I heard the front door slam open. Heavy foot steps sounded down the hall, through the kitchen until a blond head of hair appeared in the door to the back porch.

"Welcome back, Sting" I said, pulling my had back and tilting my head back to check and make sure he was okay from the mission.

"Hey Blondie," He flashed me a smirk and ran a rand through his hair, spiking it as he did so. His eyes narrowed on the lone skewer before they locked onto Rogue and Orga. "I though I told you two to save me some food!"

They both shrugged, "You snooze, you lose." Orga said by way of explaining. He sucked his fingers clean, making loud popping noises after each one, "Whatcha going to do about it, Lightbulb?"

"Lightbulb?" Sting roared indignantly. He launched himself across the patio at Orga in as Rogue quietly slipped away to stand next to me. The two quickly began to brawl in the back yard and I thanked the stars that they were outside and wouldn't destroy the house this time.

"Do you see it now?" Rogue whispered in my ear, his words for only me to hear.

Noting that the two were distracted, Rufus made use of the opportunity and stole the last kabob, only adding fuel to the fire once Sting and Orga saw. It also hadn't escaped Sting's notice that Rogue was standing beside me and a well aimed White Dragon's Claw quickly changed that and brought him into the fray.

I stayed away from the mess and laughed. "Yeah, I see it now." They did seem happy. All four of them fought with wide smiles on their faces as they tore up the back yard. I would have to ask Virgo tomorrow and see if she could fix this with her digging magic.

Warmth bloomed in my chest watching them and thinking that this was their home as much as it was mine.

We had all finally made it home. And none of us could be happier.

I smiled.

The pieces were starting to fall into place.

I hope this makes up for my absence; finally a little RoLu! Their relationship is going to be slower than Lucy's and Sting's.

There is a poll up on my page for a very important scene that is to happen in a chapter or two. probably two, but I would love your input!

As always, thank you to everyone who takes the time to read this story and review, favorite, and follow it. it means the world to me! Keep up the good work!