e1ectricwords - Tumblr blog

e1ectricwords · 1 day ago

Text

"You fell asleep during the game"

Hello friendly neighbourhood lurker. Pt1 of the request of silly tiktok prompts. Trying a different format than just bulletpoints but I'm unsure if it's repetitive or not (I've been awake quite a few too many hours now to tell).

PROMPT - Character fell asleep, you're trying to trick them into thinking they fell asleep mid card game.

Natsu:

Deafening snores disrupt your night once again. Despite being together for years now, this was something that you just couldn’t get used to, and tonight was just one of those nights that sleep refused to greet you. So what else to do whilst bored out of your mind, steadily going more insane as the seconds slowly ticked by? Uno in hand, you placed down a few cards onto his pillow, and a makeshift pile in the middle of the bed. With one sharp, and hard nudge, Natsu bolted upright.

“What?” He groaned, rubbing his eyes. “What is it?”

“Your turn,” you bluntly stated, gesturing to the pile of cards on the bed, careful to keep your own pile hidden from sight.

Without much thought, Natsu picked up the pile of cards next to his head. “My bad.” With a stretch and a grunt, he sat upright, ready to finish a game he had no recollection of starting.

Gray:

“Gray,” you hissed, sharp push against his shoulder. There was a grunt, and a groan, followed by a slow movement of the man beside you.

He made a noise, half-asleep, squinting in the dim light of the room. “Are you okay?” His voice groggy, laced with sleep.

“Yeah,” the response was quick. Of course you just wanted a way to mess with him a little. “You need to pick up four.”

“Huh?” He sat upright in bed, sheets pooling around his waist. “What do you mean?’ Looking down, he caught sight of an uno game, a plus four card on top of the pile. His brows furrowed, mixed with a look of annoyance: “we’re not doing this tonight.”

Laxus:

You should let him rest. You knew that. You knew how he was when he was woken up, or when he was forced to function on little sleep. And yet, the intrusive thoughts still took hold of you, gripping you tightly until you could hold it no longer. Poking him once, then twice, you waited for a response. Truthfully, you were just eager to see if he would fall for it despite already knowing the answer deep down, You had planned it meticulously, making it look as real as possible.

There was a hum, resonating from deep within his chest. Semi-awake. This was something. Still, his eyes weren’t opening, but you could work with it.

“You fell asleep,” you tried to explain, clutching cards close to your chest. “It’s your go.”

There was a pause. A sigh. And then a grumble, “no it isn’t. Go to sleep.”

Bickslow:

Curled in a bundle of blankets, head nestled in a pile of pillows. Sleep held you in its grasp, cradling you through fields of dreams. That was, until something was thrown at your head, subsequently pulling you from your rest. A rogue pillow landed on the floor next to the bed and the action had violently woken you up. Next to you, Bickslow sat on the mattress. Legs sprawled out in front of him, a pile of cards in his hand. Your eyes landed on the cards and confusion spread through you.

“You keep losing,” he stated bluntly. He dealt out a new hand of cards to you, pushing them into your hands. “You can’t go to sleep to avoid the shame.”

Slowly, you pulled yourself upright, playing a singular card to start the game.

Freed:

Oh, this was perfect. Much unlike himself, Freed had fallen asleep in the strangest of positions. Kept awake for so long after a string of jobs it didn’t surprise you that he had only spent just a few minutes with you before falling deep asleep. Half propped up by the bed-frame, his body slumped awkwardly against it; he had fallen asleep whilst sitting and was slowly sliding down with each passing minute. So ungracious. This was the only time to fool him.

A sharp nudge to the shoulder and he quickly sprang to life. His eyes fell on the cards in the middle of the bed, something you had quickly scrambled together but unknown to him. “Oh,” he mumbled, trying to regain some shred of composure. “That was most ungentlemanly to fall asleep mid-game. Apologies.”

Sting:

Classic for him to fall asleep with his phone in his hand, video playing in the background. Slowly taking the phone out of his hand, you replaced it with a pile of cards, and delivered a short, blunt nudge to his shoulder.

“It’s your turn,” you said softly. “Do you need to go to sleep? We can just say I won this one.”

Despite being very much half-asleep, he lazily gripped at his cards, still refusing to lose no matter what. It took him a moment, cogs in his brain whirring as he forced his eyes to focus on the coloured cards. “No,” through a yawn. “No, I can still play.”

Rogue:

You almost felt bad for waking him up. So peacefully asleep, confusion now seeped through him, He had fallen asleep again? Mid-game? It didn’t sound like him at all. You leaned over the pile of cards on the bed, eagerly awaiting his next turn that you had perfectly orchestrated. A few extra nudges to keep him awake and sure enough he was slowly moving his arm, reaching out to place a card down.

“I don’t remember playing,” he mumbled, setting down a card.

“We were,” you tried to reassure him. “You keep falling asleep.”

Gajeel:

The true issue was making sure that he was actually fully asleep before trying anything. Gajeel never fell into a deep sleep unless under very specific circumstances. So as you sat, wide-awake and unable to sleep, and him beside you breathing softly, your first order of business was making sure that he was actually asleep. Everything seemed perfect, eyes shut, breathing steady, legs sprawled out everywhere. Cards freshly shuffled, you started to deal them, cutting up the deck to make it look like the game was half finished.

“What are you doing?” Came his voice, deep and resounding.

“You fell asleep during Uno,” you responded. To convince him, you had to convince himself.

“No I didn’t.” Shit. “Go to sleep.” Double shit.

#fear my bickslow bias is growing day by day #fairy tail #fairytail #fairy tail headcanons #fairytail fanfic #fairy tail fanfiction #laxus dreyar #gajeel redfox #gray fullbuster #natsu dragneel #sting #rogue #bickslow #freed justine #these are so fun to do but this is probably so riddled with errors my head is hurting

3 notes · View notes

e1ectricwords · 6 days ago

Text

Tainted

Rogue x OC x Sting Part 1 Word Count: 5211 Angst, fluff, tension, sexual tension, manipulation Valeria Vota - the sickly sweet poison that Sabertooth unknowingly ingests.

“You can’t tell them your real magic,” Azelio scoffed with a sharp and dismissive tone. He leaned casually against the wall, arms crossed as he almost glared down at his little sister.

She groaned in response, stretching further over the armrest of the couch. “I’m not good at that though,” she grumbled. “I just can’t make stuff up on the spot.”

Azelio raised an eyebrow in response to his sister’s ‘can’t do’ attitude. “It’s literally all you do with your actual magic,” he responded with sarcasm. He pushed himself off of the dark wall and crossed the room to Valeria. He nudged at her legs sprawled over across the entirety of the couch and she moved them, allowing him just enough space to sit down, and then she draped her legs back over him.

“That’s different,” she sighed. “That’s easy but this is hard! They’d expect me to use it.”

He shrugged in response and twirled the signet ring on his left little finger. “Then just get a magical item, make that do all the work.”

Valeria snapped her head up at him, glaring slightly at his both stupid and clever suggestion. “And then just say that's my real magic?” It wasn’t a half bad idea, but she would still pose the issue of if the item ever left her person, she would have no excuse to save herself.

“You’re so clever,” Azelio murmured. With a faint twitch of a smirk he grabbed her legs, pushing her up and over the side of the couch.

Valeria shrieked, throwing a pillow at him that had tumbled down with her but it was effortlessly caught. “You bastard!”

He shrugged once more and carefully placed the pillow down in its rightful spot. “Don’t fuck this up, Val,” he stated, adopting a more serious tone. Valeria looked up at him from her position on the hardwood floor. “I can’t save you from our father if you do,” he added, voice low in warning.

His words hung heavy in the air. Slowly, Valeria pulled herself up to standing and nodded at him. “Yeah…I’ll try not to. Thanks.”

Azelio made his way over to the exit, back into the main portion of their house. His tailored shoes clicked against the hardwood and fell silent as he stopped in the doorway. “Just don’t get yourself killed,” he added after a pause, looking back into the dark sitting room, only illuminated by the blazing fire and lit candles. “By them or by him.” He slipped out of the room, leaving his last haunting words sitting with Valeria.

The room fell back into silence, only broken by the occasional crackling of the fire. Valeria stepped closer, welcoming the warmth on her skin. She felt herself zone out, staring into the flames of the fire. How on earth was she going to carry out this mammoth task all on her own?

“What are you doing, girl?” A voice barked, instantly shattering any sense of peace she had formed by being alone. She jumped slightly, startled, as she always was when her father caught her off-guard, but she quickly regained her composure, not wanting to add to his list of qualities that he disliked about his own daughter. She whipped around, planting herself to stand straight, head up, staring him into the eyes. “Why aren’t you gone yet? Sabertooth is a thorn in my side and here you are letting it grow. What are you doing?”

In all of her nineteen years of life, Valeria still hadn’t perfected a way to answer her father without annoying him in some way. She took a deep breath. Calm yourself. “Father, I was just assessing my strategy for infiltration.”

He raised an eyebrow at her, keeping one hand firmly planted around the hilt of his sword like always. “Good girl.” That was a first. “But go!

She stood in front of the large and colourful building. Sun shone down into her eyes, causing her to glare up at the sign; she was at the right place. On one side of the building was some sort of graffiti, a load of different colours and a load of different names. It was odd, she was used to the monochrome darkness of her own family manor, and her own family’s guild. Her own guild knew she had left that morning, but no one bid her farewell, nor did she even mention that she was leaving. Valeria had a foreboding feeling that everything would be completely opposite here. She also had no clue how long her infiltration task would take. If she was lucky it would be a month…maybe two. If she was unlucky then she might never leave. Her father, the master of her own guild, was very clear: if Sabertooth isn’t left in ruins, don’t bother coming back. In all of her nineteen years of life, Valeria had one rule to live by: no pain can be compared to what dad can do to you if you fail. When her own guild emblem had been painfully removed (a suggestion by her own mother to ensure she was a clean slate for Sabertooth), she barely flinched. He had watched her through every second of the process, arms folded, never offering any words of support, just a cold hard glare. Members of the Shadow Hand were never seen as people, and Tullio Vota’s own children were just seen as extensions of himself.

Valeria twiddled the magical ring around her finger. She had purchased it to prepare for the mission; a dainty little silver thing with a fake ruby. It did what it needed to, gave her fake magic and kept her blending in. Straining muscles that hadn’t been used in milenia, she plastered on the fakest of smiles and strode into the building. She wasn’t expecting the reaction that she received. Nearly everyone smiled back at her, and it was genuine. The prolonged eye contact and attention made her feel itchy. Her whole life had been confined to the shadows and now she was under a spotlight. It was horrendously uncomfortable.

A young woman, dressed head to toe in white, stepped into view. With a bright smile, she waved. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around before. What’s your name?”

Insufferable.

Valeria stared at the woman for a few seconds, trying to understand her kindness. The woman was patient, and continued to smile. “Val. My name is Val.”

“That’s a beautiful name!” The woman exclaimed. “Mine is Yukino. What made you come here today? We only do fan meets on Fridays-”

“Oh, I came here to join,” Valeria quickly stated.

Yukino’s smile widened, Valeria had no idea smiles could get as big as that. “Fantastic! We can go see Sting about that!” She turned and took Valeria’s hand. The contact was soft and entirely unexpected. Valeria frowned to herself slightly as she was whisked away deeper into the guildhall.

In preparation for this mission, Valeria had spent a lot of time reading over information on Sabertooth. She knew they were a strong guild, even managing to hold the title of Fiore’s Strongest Guild for a while until Fairy Tail returned. She recognised a lot of these members. Her brothers Azelio and Nico had fought against many of the top members. Azelio once recalled a fight with the Thunder God Slayer to be thrilling. Of course he would. Freak.

Yukino came to a halt as they reached the seat of the master. In it sat Sting. Young and blond, lounging all over the seat and dressed in lavish furs. She had met him once, a few years ago. In his young age he wanted to track down Shadow Hand and dismantle them himself, but a run in with herself and Nico had sent him running back to Sabertooth, sad and defeated.

“Who is this, Yukino?” He asked, sounding ever so slightly bored with life.

Yukino beamed, before proudly stating, “this is Val. She came to join.”

Sting raised an eyebrow and shifted slightly, leaning forward and placing his elbows on his knees. “And what magic do you use?”

Valeria paused for a split second. The way he was looking at her she was worried that he recognised her. She calmed herself. She has an alias for a reason, and a whole disguise when out on jobs, except this one. Twisting the ring around her finger once again, “pretty simple fire magic, but I’m looking to train to be stronger.” Her answer felt weak. If she had stated her own magic it would surely secure her a place, but her own magic was unique to her guild alone, and more specifically her family alone. She would be ousted as The Blade of Shadow Hand immediately.

“Matches your hair,” Sting mumbled, gesturing to Valeria’s crimson hair. “But,” he mused, “anything else?”

“I’m excellent with a sword,” she replied instantaneously. This was no lie. Valeria won almost every single sword fight she had ever participated in. The only person who could ever beat her is her father.

A grin spread across his face, delighting in the fact that Valeria had fallen for his intimidation tactics. He leaned back in his chair, “I’m just messing with you!”

Yukino whispered to you, “he does this to everyone new.”

Sting launched himself up from the seat and clapped Valeria on the shoulder. “Loosen up, Sunshine.” He placed a hand between her shoulders on her back, gently resting on her hair, and guided her to another section of the guildhall, “now, where do you want your new emblem?”

Sunshine?

Valeria glanced down at the dress she had chosen, white with sunflowers. It was an awful dress overall, and she wasn’t used to wearing any colour. And now it had earned her a nickname. She hated it. “I’ll take it on my arm.”

The next few days passed in a blur as she tried to find her footing in the guild. She was given a room (with a week of rent-free living) and the guild welcomed her with open arms. Introductions to other members came swiftly, and before she knew it, she had been whisked away on a few jobs. Sting had seemingly taken a liking to her, taking Valeria under his wing almost. She had mentioned she wanted to be stronger, and maybe it was an ego thing but who better to train her than the master himself? And yet, despite immersing herself into guild life, there was nothing for her to exploit. Every technique taught to her by her mother fell short. She eavesdropped on conversations, forced herself to join in group conversations and even faked laughs at jokes that weren’t even remotely funny. Not a single weak link could be identified.

Around a week into her time at the guild, she was dragged outside by Yukino, who had taken a strong liking to her, to the front of the guildhall. It was the same wall that Valeria had instantly noticed upon joining. It was a violent array of harsh colours, but upon closer inspection when she was forced to, she could see it was various handprints in multiple colours, each one signed with different initials. Every handprint represented each member’s commitment and contribution to the guild. A few other members were also standing around the wall, buckets of paint closeby.

Sting lifted a bucket of paint, cracking open the lid. It was yellow. “This is for you, Sunshine,” he grinned. “Hold out your hand.”

Slowly, Valeria moved her hand to extend outstretched. Sting was almost vibrating with excitement at the prospect of slathering Valeria’s hand in paint. He was stopped by his right-hand, Rogue, just as he was about to tip the pot all over her. Valeria had seen Rogue around in the guild before, always quiet and always reserved. He had a certain way of blending himself into the background, and if Valeria hadn’t seen him cosy up to that little cat then she would have started to scout him for Shadow Hand. He had never spoken to her directly, but they had crossed paths multiple times before where he had shot her short, fleeting glances.

“Remember what you say,” he murmured to Sting, voice soft. He produced a paintbrush and handed it over.

“What does he say?” Valeria asked quickly, curious if this was anything she could use. Rogue glanced in her direction with a soft expression.

He started to respond, but Yukino chimed in before he could get the words out. “He makes everyone wait a week before doing this.” Her voice was light with amusement. “Because he doesn’t want to waste the good paint.”

Sting groaned, knowing he had been foiled. Gripping the brush, he dipped it into the paint and smeared the bright colour all over Valeria’s palm with a wicked grin. Rogue watched the event unfold, allowing himself to enjoy this moment ever so slightly before slipping back inside his shell. Sting handed over the paint and the brush to Rogue before gripping Valeria’s wrist and leading her up to the wall.

He picked an empty space and pressed her palm to the concrete. “You’ll be inner circle in no time,” he laughed. “Especially if I’m training you.”

The contact remained for a few painfully long seconds before Sting finally released his grip. Slowly, Valeria pulled her hand back, revealing the fresh yellow hand print on the wall. Sting handed her the paintbrush and gestured for her to write her initials on the wall. She hesitated for just a moment, knowing that her family would frown at her for doing this, but knowing that she wouldn’t succeed if she refused. With a controlled flourish, Valeria stamped her handprint V.V. She spun on her heels to face the others, forcing a fake smile. She took in all of their expressions, trying to remember every single thing her mother had ever taught her about manipulation. Sting was grinning, as usual. His eyes crinkled in the corner as he was filled with complete joy. Rogue allowed himself to smile, his eyes seemed to try and connect with Valeria. Yukino jumped slightly with excitement; it was clear in her head that she and Valeria would be best friends. If Valeria had to play a role for each and every one of them then she would. And then she noticed. Anyone else would have missed it if they weren’t trained like she was. That tinged blush on Rogue’s cheeks as his eyes dropped down before he rapidly pulled them back up.

She finally had her opening.

A little while later, Valeria stood in front of the request board. She had washed all traces of that hideous paint from her hands and stood silently to herself as a plan formed in her head. She amused herself by reading over all of the requests relating to her family, and it truly made her ego spike whenever she saw something mentioning her specifically. Valeria knew she was powerful and she relished in it. Having been taught powerful and secretive magic and trained in the highest arts of swordplay, she knew that it would be truly hard for anyone here to defeat her if she were true to her training. She relished seeing her alias plastered in bold letters with a warning sign to accompany it. Honestly, it made her giddy.

“Lost on what job to do?” Valeria glanced to her side, but didn’t move her head. Rogue was standing next to her, staring at the board just like she was. “I see you’re looking at Shadow Hand?” He spoke so calmly. If Valeria didn’t know about his secret little crush then she might have suspected that he was on to her. She gave one curt nod. “Vile,” he muttered. “Save yourself the hassle and don’t do it. Sting tried to once…he almost died.”

Delicate and calculating, Valeria reached up with a hand to place it on his shoulder. He didn’t move his head at all, instead his eyes widened and his face tinged with a light pink. “You two seem really close,” Valeria commented, looking up at Rogue now, all of her attention on him.

“We’ve known each other since we were children,” he explained, glancing down at her. “We’ve always been together.”

“And you’re a really strong team together,” Valeria smiled as sweetly as possible. She sprinkled in a lie, “it’s why I wanted to join, to work with you two.”

Rogue didn’t respond, but the lie had clearly resonated within him. “Still, avoid Shadow Hand. When you’re ready, we’ll take them down together.”

Valeria couldn’t help herself. She had removed her hand from his shoulder, allowing him to loosen up a slight bit. “What’s so bad about them?”

They had moved to a small table, close to the requests board. This was the most Valeria had spoken to him in one go, and hearing about her own guild from him definitely engorged her ego. “They prey on the weak,” Rogue had begun before he was quickly interrupted by Sting.

“I’m pretty sure they all come out heartless,” Sting exclaimed, sitting on top of the table cross-legged, leaning down to insert himself into the conversation. “They all act so edgy with ‘scary’ little nicknames. I let them beat me that one time so that they wouldn’t feel bad.”

“Oh really?” Valeria queried, raising an eyebrow in amusement. She knew the different, true story. “You’re so strong,” she added with a flutter of her lashes that Sting did not miss.

“Explains how I became a master so young,” he grinned. He had an ego to match Valeria’s on a good day. “I didn’t even fight regular members, they were two of the Inner Circle.”

“All family,” Rogue mentioned. He had gone really quiet since Sting had joined in the conversation.

“Yeah,” Sting agreed. “Parents, and three kids?” He questioned slightly, wondering if he had the information correct. “They run it and everyone else is just like a pawn.”

“That’s awful,” Valeria feigned her compassion. “What poor children.”

“Poor children?” Sting questioned instantly.

“I imagine they’re forced into the lifestyle, knowing nothing else of the world,” Rogue murmured in agreement. “But that doesn’t change or excuse what they have done.”

“I bet they hate their parents,” she couldn’t help but let slip a little truth.

“I’m just waiting for the day I can fight them again,” Sting exclaimed, leaning back slightly and kicking his legs over the side of the table.

Valeria saw an opportunity here. With a sweet smile, she crossed her arms, placing them on the tops of his legs, before leaning her head down onto them. “Who do you want to fight the most?”

Sting looked down at her precarious positioning. He tripped on his words slightly and glanced at Rogue, who was beginning to stand up and walk away. “The Marionette.” Ah, Nico. Her eldest brother is the strongest out of the siblings, trained in the magic of her mother; Shadow Marionette Magic. He’s the star, the favourite, the one to next take over as Patriarch once her father gives up the title…if he ever does. “I can’t stand him,” Sting continued, “he had my own shadow fight me whilst I also had to fight off The Blade.”

“Oh wow…” Valeria sighed.

“Of course, we’re planning something to finally get rid of them…but plans take time.” As Valeria removed her head from his lap, he jumped down from the table. “Have fun picking out a job, Sunshine.” With a curt wave, he disappeared as quickly as he had appeared, back to fulfill whatever duties he had.

That was delicious.

A month passed in Sabertooth and her plans slowly trickled in motion in the background. Any effects were subtle and almost noticeable. Sting and Rogue spent less time with each other. Even if they wanted to, there was a seemingly invisible barrier between them. Valeria loved watching it unfold, all stemming from a slight flutter of lashes, a sweet smile, a particular hand placement. She was careful not to push things too quickly, but she almost felt as if things were becoming stagnant. She needed something to happen. Laying on her bed, head hanging off of the side, she brainstormed, forming different ideas of what she could potentially do.

A knock at the door pulled her out of her thoughts. It was the cusp of night so she was confused as to why anyone would be outside of her room but then again she had heard that some members had actual pillow fights at night so maybe it was one of them. She threw herself from bed and pressed herself against the door, listening out for any identifying sounds. Very…very soft breathing, almost undetectable.

Valeria opened the door, she didn’t even bother to open it slowly. She stood there, arms crossed in her little frilly yellow pyjamas with the most utter look of disdain etched onto her features. “Azelio…”

Her older brother smirked and shrugged, inviting himself into the room and shutting the door beside him. “You’re getting good, Val.” His tone was light as if this was a normal visit and he stopped in the center of the room. He scoped it slightly, a skill drilled into him to always know his exit points.

“What are you doing here?” She interrupted him, frowning at him as she stood in front of the door. She was going to be more than pissed if he interrupted any plans she had.

“I came to see my favourite sister.”

“I’m your only sister.”

“Then you’re the default. Nothing special.”

“Ouch. But seriously, what the fuck are you doing here?”

The smirk dropped, replaced by an icy, unrelenting stare completely void of deeper emotion. Valeria caught a glimpse of a dagger sliding free from the sleeve of his pristine suit jacket. This was a pre-planned visit. She couldn’t track where it was heading as he melted into the shadows, disappearing entirely from view. Shadow Hand’s proud name wasn’t conjured from thin air, but rooted in the teaching and mastering of sinister shadow magic taught only within her own family.

As the eldest two, Nico and Azelio were each taught magic from their parents. Nico was taught shadow marionette magic, the ability to control shadows with chilling precision, just like their mother. Azelio was taught the magic of their father, shadow walker magic, allowing him to slip into any shadow he wished.

Valeria knew better than to try and track Azelio in the shadows. He was like a ghost, impossible to see or touch. She dropped low to the floor and slowly dipped her fingertips into the natural shadows of her bedroom. They pooled around the tips of her fingers, tendrils darting up and curling back. With a whisper, she summoned her magic, “shadow-make sword,” forcing the shadows to take form to her command. She gripped the hilt tightly and drew the sword from the shadows.

There was a high possibility that Azelio was sent to kill her. He was, after all, named The Assassin for a reason. Her father wasn’t the type of person to feel any remorse for sending out a hit on his own child, especially if that child isn’t completing a job fast enough. The other possibility was that this could very well be Azelio’s own twisted way of ‘helping’.

A glint caught her eye. Her brother’s arm emerged from the shadows, dagger poised to strike. Reacting on instinct, Valeria gripped her sword and threw it up in front of her to block the incoming attack. She couldn’t anticipate that he would melt into her own sword. Suddenly without a weapon, Valeria scrambled backwards, knocking over a small table, filling the room with jarring noise that shattered through the silence. Azelio was on her in an instant, using one of his hands to pin her wrists above her head. The other dragged the dagger across her cheek, cold metal sliding across her warm cheek. She felt blood pool at the wound. It stung but she refused to react, instead glaring up at her brother.

He pressed the edge of the blade against her throat and spoke in a surprisingly calm tone. “Scream for help.”

No answer.

He repeated himself, “scream for help.” It was insistent, bordering on an order.

“What?” Her voice was barely more than a hiss.

“Trust me.” His eyes rolled and then narrowed at her. “Don’t be dumb. You know they heard the noise. You can hear their footsteps too, Val. Scream for help and act like you don’t know me.” He stared at her for a few brief moments. She had stopped struggling against his grip. “Keep up this persona you created.”

“You’re helping me?”

“Shut up and scream, Val. Don’t act like I don’t look out for you.”

Her mind tried to race with thoughts but time was against her. Footsteps thundered in the corridor outside. She could hear them getting closer. Listening to her brother, she let out a piercing scream, allowing her voice to run raw. She pushed against Azelio’s strength, struggling against his fake attack.

The door crashed open as Rogue caught himself in the doorway, watching the scene in front of him. He kicked himself into action, rushing inside just as Azelio slipped Valeria the tiniest of winks before melting into the shadows again. He dropped to his knees beside Valeria, helping her sit up. His eyes kept darting from her to the shadows in the room. If anyone was able to hold the slightest bit of chance of tracking Azelio down, it would be Rogue, but he kept stopping himself. It was the way that Valeria’s soft brown eyes pleaded with him. It was the way her crimson hair stuck out in awkward directions after being pushed around. It was the way she was still trembling.

“I don’t think I should be alone tonight,” Valeria spoke softly.

Rogue’s hand rested awkwardly on her back to keep her steady. “Right…” he spoke after what felt like a century. “I can go get someone-”

He was quick to stand up but Valeria was faster and gripped the waist of his trousers, gently tugging him back down to her. “I don’t want anyone else,” Valeria added. “I need you, Rogue. You saved me from him killing me. That was Shadow Hand…wasn’t it?”

Rogue kept quiet but his lips drew into a thin line. He pulled a tissue from his pocket and pressed it against the cut on her cheek. It stung. Valeria didn’t have to fake a wince. He held the tissue against the wound, soaking up any other blood that oozed from it. “Yeah…” he finally spoke. “I’ll warn Sting when I can. I’ll stay if you need me.” He offered a very small smile, trying to comfort Valeria, but not truly knowing how to comfort her.

“Please don’t leave me,” Valeria pleaded.

The desperation in her eyes bore its way into his heart, melting it like acid from the inside. He faltered. “Let’s get you back to bed.” His voice was soft but firm as he slowly rose, pulling her up with him. “I’ll watch over you whilst you sleep.”

Valeria held on tight to his forearm, fingers clutching at his sleeve as if her life depended on it. Valeria never thought she was much of an actress, but she was putting on the show of a lifetime, all she had to do was take inspiration from the faces of all of her countless victims. Rogue didn’t comment on it, but instead guided her back to bed. He pulled back the white linen sheets with one hand and eased Valeria onto the soft mattress. Rogue discarded the bloodied tissue, but quickly grabbed another clean one to replace it. As Valeria lay down, Rogue pressed the new tissue into her hand, and took a seat on a chair closeby, careful to put the folded laundry elsewhere so that he doesn’t sit on it. She observed his actions, always so careful and calculated but soft and gentle.

“Rogue…” she spoke softly, holding the tissue against her cheek and laying herself down into the bed. She lay on one side to observe him. He looked up slightly, but didn’t speak. “Thank you for coming to save me.” Valeria was angry at Azelio for pushing her into this situation when she could have orchestrated it herself, but she knew her father and ultimately knew that he wanted this done as soon as possible.

“It’s what anyone would have done, Valeria,” he stated with an even tone.

“But you did it,” she quickly interjected. “Thanks for moving so quickly.”

Rogue hid a very light blush. “I was actually on my way over here…”

“You were?” There was a very subtle glint in Valeria’s eye. This was a crack in his usual exterior and it was something that she could slide into. “What for?”

He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “Well actually we wanted to see if you wanted to go on a picnic tomorrow?”

“We?” Valeria raised an eyebrow and discarded the tissue into a bin beside her.

“Frosch and I.”

That damn cat. Valeria tried not to let her disappointment show. “I would love to,” she offered Rogue a sickeningly sweet smile. She shuffled slightly and scooched away, creating a larger gap between her and Rogue. “It will get cold sitting there all night long.” Her words were innocent, but her intent was clear.

There was no blush, no reaction. His face was impassive. It was as if his thoughts lagged, and suddenly caught up to him. “Are you sure?”

Valeria lifted the covers slightly to entice him in. “Positive.”

Slowly, Rogue lifted himself up from the chair, careful to drape his cloak over the back of it. He proceeded slowly to the edge of the bed, slipped off his shoes and proceeded to lay at the very edge, staring straight up at the ceiling, not allowing himself to look elsewhere. His body was rigid, barely moving a muscle. Only his chest moved ever so slightly as he breathed in and out. Her eyes studied him. He’s so unsure of this moment, but still wanting it. She tucked her arms under her pillow as she turned to her side to face him - he doesn’t look at her.

“You can get some rest.” His voice was soft. He didn’t know if the assassin would come back, or what his motive was, but he wasn’t going to let himself fall asleep if there was still the possibility of danger.

“And what about you?” Valeria asked him.

“I said I’d watch over you,” he repeated, eyes still locked onto the ceiling. “I intend to stick to what I say.”

“How do you intend to watch over me if you’re not even looking at me?” She questioned him. Rogue faltered slightly, intending to respond but stuttering over his words unable to get any out. Unsure of himself and his own actions, he started to turn onto his side, now facing Valeria. He still remained precariously close to the edge of the bed, putting as much distance between the two of them as possible. She showed him a smile, knowing she was steadily chipping away at him, and closed her eyes.

If you liked this, check out the Masterlist

#fairy tail #fairytail #fairytail fanfic #fairy tail fanfiction #sting eucliffe #sting ft #ft sting #ft rogue #sabertooth guild #fairytail oneshot #fairytail original characters

1 note · View note