Love Problems

Rolu - I'm Here For You

Lucy's P.O.V:

I was once again, floating in darkness. Drifting in nothingness. My mind whirled at the memories of Sting. So many thoughts were passing through my head, but I didn't want to interpret any of them. It hurt a lot to think about the peaceful past, knowing it'll never happen again. 'Sting's gone to the dark side. This is the end of us - but when did we even begin?'

Similar to last time, a swirl of light floated towards me from above. Without hesitation, I reached out a hand to grasp that light. As the light engulfed me in its warmth, a single thought ran through my head: 'Now that's Sting's gone, I'm all alone in this world, aren't I?'

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"No, you aren't, Lucy. I've been here for you all this time."

My eyes snapped open. A dark, hazy figure loomed over me. I flinched a little, until I saw his familiar red eyes.

"Oh, hey, Rogue," I mumbled, pushing my leaden body of the ground. I quickly glanced around at my surroundings. "Huh, I must've fallen asleep on the field."

"Looks like it," he replied, taking a seat next to me. The sky was already a dark shade of blue.

A few moments later, my brain woke up along with the rest of my body, and I remembered something. "What were you saying, earlier? I'm sorry, but I was half asleep." I grinned at him sheepishly. Everyone knew I wasn't exactly the best listener in the world.

Rogue suddenly blushed when asked to repeat his statement. I stifled back a snicker.

"Hey!" he cried, flustered. I ignored his objection and burst out laughing. The sound echoed across the fields after fields of empty grass. It wasn't everyday I got to see Rogue lose his cool.

"Gosh, your face is redder than Erza's hair," I said between gasps of breath.

"Ugh, stop it, Lucy. It's not funny."

I stopped for a single second to look at him. He was trying to act serious, but his face gave it all away. "Why don't you make me?" I challenged.

The redness disappeared from his cheeks and his voice dropped down to barely a whisper. Then he said, "Maybe I will."

I raised a brow tauntingly. "Let's see you try."

Everything happened so fast. Rogue's hands flew to my shoulders and pulled me closer. So close that our faces were barely a centimeter apart. The smug smile fell from my face. I was aware of my erratic heartbeat. 'Dang it.' I could feel his warm breath on my lips. My own breath was caught in my throat.

My eyes widen in surprise - or was it fear?

We stayed like that for a split second, but it felt like years. I was relieved, yet (for some reason), reluctant when he pulled away.

There was a sad look in his eyes when he told me, "Relax, Lucy. You don't have to look so scared. I wasn't actually going to kiss you or anything." Realizing that his hands were still on my shoulders, he quickly withdrew them.

My head felt woozy after that. We sat, side by side, in awkward silence. The almost-kiss broke me out of my jovial trance, and left me wondering about my life - the life that Rogue saved.

"What a nice, clear sky isn't it, Lucy?" he asked me.

"Why did you save me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Back then, on the cliff. You stopped me from jumping off - why?"

Rogue scratched his nonexistent beard thoughtfully. "Hmm, I guess I just thought jumping off of a cliff wasn't a good way for Fiore's most powerful Mage to die. I've always imagined you dying in some epic battle with Zeref."

I sent him a stern frown. "Rogue, I'm being serious."

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, we're finally being serious now, aren't we?" Realizing that he wasn't being serious, he cleared his throat, then spoke in a more earnest tone. "Lucy, I stopped you from suiciding back then because you were being stupid."

Now it was her turn to protest. "Hey!"

"Stop. What kind of smart person wants to jump off a cliff just because they 'think' their husband is cheating on them? That's absurd!"

"Okay, so you saved me because you wanted to save me from abject humiliation. Is that all?"

"No, there's more. I saved you because I knew you have so much more to live for. If you really died that day, on the cliff, then you would've never become who you are now. You would've never become stronger, kinder, smarter Lucy, if you had died. You would've never saved Fairy Tail from the evil clutches of Lissana. And I lo-"

"And I would've never lost Sting." My voice was quiet and meek, nothing like how empowered Rogued perceived me to be.

"No," he said after a moment of silence, "Sting would've lost you."

I opened my mouth to object, except I realized he was right. I had been the stupid one, the lovesick girl, and the overly emotional idiot. I was the real baka, not Rogue, not Natsu - me.

The realization hit me harder than I expected, so I took a deep breath. 'But that's all in the past." Then, I let it go. 'And I intend to leave it there.'

"Thanks," was all I managed to say.

By the time I looked up again, the sky was already pitch black. I gaped at the billions of stars hunging in the sky as if in a trance. It definitely wasn't the first time I've seen stars, but with Rogue by my side, everything felt more serene. I felt safe for once, and I wanted nothing more for that moment to last for eternity. But I knew better than to wish for something as childish as that again.

A gentle gust of wind blew in from the west. I tuck a strand of blonde hair behind my ears and stood up.

Looking down, I caught Rogue's crimson eyes and said, "I'm a bit tired, so I'll be going now. See you in the morning." He acknowledged my statement with a silent nod. I turned around and began heading down the hill when a thought floated to my head. I stopped walking. "Oh yeah.... Rogue?" He looked up. "I heard what you said earlier."

A moment of pause later, he replied, "Good, I wanted you to hear it."

I cracked a smile at his response, then hurried down the hill.

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'That's right... Rogue has always been there for me. Gosh, I'm such a BAKA for not noticing until now. And what's with that almost-kiss? Maybe Rogue lo- No, that's not possible. What the heck are you thinking about?!' Floating inside the dark abyss, I began to blush. Wild thoughts ran through my head amid the utter darkness of my surroundings.

'Yep, definitely not possible.'