Exhilarate || Sting Eucliffe x Reader

Boba

(Y/n)-chan was strangely quiet today; she seemed rather... pensive. She hadn't even greeted him, like usual when he arrived. Had Sting not called out to her earlier, she probably wouldn't have noticed him. Geez, he'd never seen her quite like this before. He wanted to know what was on her mind- perhaps he could help with it.

Sting was caught off guard when (Y/n)-chan sighed, "I gotta take a break..." Her gaze was elsewhere. She retreated to her beach chair, slumping over as soon as she took a seat. Her head rested on the palm of her hand. Sting noticed as she captured her bottom lip with her teeth. (Y/n)-chan always seemed to express herself through her mouth; whether it be a beatific smile, pensive pursed lips, or her damned lip biting. He figured she was upset.

But for what reason? Maybe she didn't get enough sleep? Or...Oh god, was her uterus bleeding out? He didn't know how to help with that, but he could damn-sure try! Suddenly, Sting found himself wondering what her favorite snack was. Perhaps he could get it for her for tomorrow...

(Y/n)-chan seemed to have caught Sting's gaze. The corner of her mouth curved upwards slightly, "Checking me out, huh?" She sounded a little too lackadaisical for Sting's liking. He smiled nonetheless, taking a seat beside her.

"Hardly," he quipped, his eyes were drawn to her mouth once again, "One day you're going to bite off that lip of yours."

She grazed her fingers over the area and chuckled airily. (Y/n)-chan rolled her eyes before fixating her stare at the ocean.

Without thinking, Sting placed a hand on her shoulder. "Talk to me," he breathed. 

(Y/n)-chan didn't look back at him, but he noticed her frown. "I... I'm just missing my brother a little more than usual, that's all."

"I thought they already came back from Tenrou?" Sting asked, confused.

"Yeah, but he and the others had matters to attend to in the Spirit World."

"Oh. They'll be back soon, don't sweat it."

"Yeah..."

The two sat in silence for a moment. Sting didn't know what else to say. Instead, he drew circles around her shoulder, in attempt to comfort her further.

"You know..." She trailed, "We're not even really related. Natsu found me abandoned in the woods when I was young and took me to Igneel and Levia... I didn't know my last name, so I took his... I even... I always... asked Levia to dye my hair like his..." (Y/n)-chan ran her fingers through her hair, which was barely pink at all. He assumed she stopped dyeing sometime in the seven years in which Natsu had disappeared as only the ends of her (h/c) strands remained the same salmon color.

Sting knew what it was like to idolize Natsu. Hell, he even wanted to dye his hair like his at one point. He was glad he steered away from that, however.

He opened his mouth to console her, but she interrupted with mirthless laughter, "God, sorry. What am I doing? I always seem to be relinquishing all my problems onto you." Sting's fingers continued to circle her supple skin.

"(Y/n)-chan, I don't mind at all. I can't make any promises for Natsu-san, but I have a feeling he cares a lot about you too... he'll be back before you know it..." Gah, he was an idiot. Had he had nothing more to say? What else could he do?

"And... if it's any consolation, I'll be here for you."

She turned to him, mouth agape with incredulity and glassy eyes glimmering with an emotion that Sting couldn't quite read. A new warmth enveloped his hand, causing him to cease his circling.

"Thank you, Sting."

A single, translucent tear rolled down her face. Sting tentatively cupped her cheek and wiped the liquid away with his thumb. Once again, he found himself staring at her very inviting parted lips. He wanted to grace them with his own... Ah, but perhaps in a different time. She didn't need that right now.