Part of your World
Fanart by @oryu404 , do not repost without their permission.
A collaboration by @mdelpin and @oryu404
Slash September 2020
Prompt: Mermaid
Pairing: Gray x Natsu
AO3
For @watcher-ofthe-sky
Summary: Gray is an Arctic merman, a species known for luring humans to their death with their potent song. He leaves his homeland hoping to change his fate and somehow turn his tune from one of death to one of love.
0-0
The sun had begun to set when Gray finally found Natsu sitting at his favorite spot, a rock that sat close enough to a sandy beach to let him observe without being spotted.
It was something he’d never understood about his friend. Most merfolk disliked humans, taking great pleasure in luring them to their deaths, but not Natsu. He was fascinated by them. The way they walked on two feet and were able to move on land and water. The colorful outfits they wore to cover themselves and the tools they created to make their lives easier.
It filled Gray with a gnawing fear that one day Natsu would figure out a way to join them and leave him behind. So he did the best he could to keep him by his side, searching for colorful trinkets in the many shipwrecks that were scattered along the ocean floor, waiting breathlessly for that moment when Natsu’s eyes would light up in wonder as he tried to figure out what it was used for. Basking in the beaming smile he would receive in thanks for his efforts.
Gray wasn’t sure when Natsu had become such a big part of his life. All he knew was that the merman’s constant chatter filled his world with color in a way nothing else ever had. He pulled himself up to the rock sitting as close to Natsu as he dared, and watched the sun’s descent while stealing glances at his friend.
In this light, Natsu’s beauty always left Gray feeling breathless. The reds, oranges, and pinks that decorated his tail and hair were softened by the warm glow of the sun’s last rays, making him look just like a sunset, one that Gray thought might burn him if he ever dared to touch.
He felt drab in comparison, his tail an uninteresting combination of blues and teals, meant for blending in with the darker colors of the Arctic rather than the warmer waters he’d chosen years ago.
“So,” Natsu welcomed him, rubbing his hands in anticipation and studying Gray with a mischievous grin, “What do you have for me today?”
“Who says I brought you anything?” Gray grumbled, glancing at the beach and noticing couples huddling near a large bonfire as they watched the sunset.
“You always do,” Natsu teased, leaning back on his hands and turning his attention back to the beach, as his tail swished around lazily.
“I was going to,” Gray admitted grudgingly, “but the sharks were out today.”
Natsu turned his head, examining him closely for any injuries, relaxing when he didn’t find any, “I guess you’ll just have to sing for me then.”
Gray rolled his eyes at the request. Singing was not something he’d done much of for a long time, memories of his former life in the Arctic a glaring reminder of just how dangerous his call could be. He’d enjoyed it once though, and in a moment of weakness, he’d found a secluded spot and allowed himself one song. It was there that Natsu had found him, drawn by the sound of his voice. Since that day, Natsu had hounded him to sing for him again any time he could.
Gray never had. Even though he was sure he could keep Natsu with him if he did.
“Do you ever wish that you could live on land with them?” Gray looked down at the water, not wanting Natsu to realize how anxious he was about his answer.
“Why would I ever want to do that?” Natsu moved his hand, placing it on top of Gray’s and squeezing gently, “When everything I could ever want is right here?”
“Wh-what?” Gray could feel his ears burning, but he looked up anyway, stunned by Natsu’s confession. He could hear Natsu laugh at his dumbfounded expression, but he couldn’t come up with an appropriate retort.
“You heard me,” Natsu’s mouth curved into a serene smile before jumping into the water, gently pulling Gray by the hand to join him.
Gray submerged after Natsu, heart racing in his chest as he thought about what those words meant.
“Sing to me?” Natsu asked once again, putting his free arm around Gray’s waist and looking up at him with pleading eyes.
Gray laughed at Natsu’s antics but gave in nonetheless, too happy about what was happening between them to give him a hard time. He wrapped his arm around Natsu’s shoulders, pulling him into his chest and moving them in the water in a sort of dance. He sang to his newly revealed lover, pouring all of his heart into the words, and pressing the last one onto lips he’d often dreamed of kissing.
Gray lost track of how long they held on to each other this way, their tails swaying together to a rhythm all their own. But as the water darkened all around them, he knew that Natsu had been right. Everything he’d ever wanted was right here too.
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Kiss Me
Fanart by @oryu404, do not repost without their permission.
A collaboration by @mdelpin and @oryu404
Stingue Fall Equinox 2020
Prompt: Warmth
Pairing: Sting x Rogue, Sting & Orga
AO3 | FF.Net
Summary: Sting has one thing on his mind when Rogue shows up at his dorm room unexpectedly: the kiss they'd shared at the end of a week spent studying together for midterms. He's dying to get Rogue alone again, but first he has to get past the embarrassment of his messy room, and his nosy roommate.
October 27, 2012
“Check this out,” Orga laughed as he showed Sting yet another silly TikTok on his phone. He had to raise his voice a little to surpass the sound of the music he’d put on- some kind of rock band Sting knew most songs from by now.
“I’ve already seen that one, blockhead. You bombard me with so many of these that you can’t even remember which ones you’ve already sent me?” Sting groaned when his roommate shrugged at his comment and started singing along to the music, “Turn it down, people are still asleep! It’s barely past 10!”
He had just finished speaking when they heard a loud banging against the wall. “See?” he flashed him a look that said I told you so, feeling rather victorious when Orga turned the volume down a little. Sadly enough, he didn’t stop singing.
“Whoa-oa-oah, so hun-gry~”
“The-eh-eh-en get fucking dre-essed~ We’re all out of...everything.” Sting checked the minifridge and the small cabinet they used for snacks, pouting in disappointment when all he found were empty wrappers and some leftovers from a salad that looked like it was ready to crawl out of its container. He pulled a face as he dumped it into the trash, “Nasty…”
“Or-” Orga swiped across the screen of his phone, “we could get some lunch delivered! What’re you up for? Pizza? Burgers? Ooh! You should try 8-Island!”
The idea of getting delivery was very tempting, but they’d done that so many times already over the midterm week that Sting was almost looking forward to the crappy dorm food. He could hear his mother’s voice inside his head, giving him a lecture about the importance of healthy meals. Oh well, what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her.
“But-” he was cut off when Orga raised the volume again.
“This is the best part!”
“Normally, yes! Your caterwauling kind of ruins it for me, though!”
Sting noticed Orga was busy singing into the TV-remote for an invisible audience, so he took his chance and dashed for the computer. He was able to lower the volume to a more acceptable level again, despite Orga’s sung protest, but a loud knock at the door told him the damage was probably already done. “Great, now we have pissed off people at the door, which I have to answer because you’re still not dressed.”
Plastering a smile on his face, he opened the door, ready to charm his way out of yet another noise complaint. His smile widened as he recognized the person standing on the other side. That was until Orga opened his mouth.
“Is that Dobengal whining again? Cause if it is, tell him he can suck my big fat -”
Sting waved at Rogue cheerfully and put his hand up in a wait-one-sec gesture, quickly closing the door before Orga had a chance to finish that statement.
“It’s not Dobengal,” Sting hissed, “and can you put some clothes on?”
“Fine, fine. What’s got your panties in a bunch?” Orga muttered, searching through the pile of clothes that lay at the foot of his bed for a pair of pants. “There, happy?”
While Orga got dressed, Sting grabbed all of his clothes and threw them into his wardrobe in a last-ditch effort to make the room look somewhat habitable.
“Are, like, your parents here for a surprise visit or something?” Orga asked.
“No, worse. Rogue,” Sting explained, continuing to throw the contents of his floor into his wardrobe. He pushed all his weight against the doors to force them to shut, and when that didn’t work, he hooked his desk chair with his leg and dragged it towards him in an attempt to lodge it under the handles.
“You mean the guy you’re always talking about?”
Sting didn’t like the gleam in Orga’s eyes at the news or the way he made kissy faces at him. “Oh, come on, don’t be an asshole for once. Please?”
“We have a guest, and you shouldn’t leave him waiting outside. You wouldn’t want Dobengal to have a go at him, would you?” Orga smiled sweetly, and with that, Sting hurried to the door. He could only hope the wardrobe would hold.
Giving himself a quick once over in the mirror that hung behind the door and deeming himself presentable, he opened the door again and leaned against it. “Hey there! Sorry about that, loud roommate, and all that.”
“Hey,” Rogue replied, looking slightly uncomfortable but happy to see him.
“Uhm, do you wanna come in?” Sting almost wished he’d say no so that they could get out of there, but he knew it would be rude not to ask, especially after nearly slamming the door in his face.
“Actually, I was just wondering if-”
Sting was ungraciously shoved aside, nearly faceplanting on the floor when Orga joined, “Are you Rogue? Nice to meet you. I’m Orga!” He gave Rogue a handshake that had his whole arm moving up and down and flung the door wide open. “Come in, come in!”
Sting watched with growing dread as his roommate pulled his crush inside their room and showed it off. He didn’t see why. There was nothing worth showing off. His efforts to get his clothes out of sight barely made a difference.
“Take a seat!” Orga gestured from Sting’s bed to the chair that was cranked underneath the wardrobe door handles, offering both as viable options even though he could see Sting waving his arms and shaking his head. “So, Sting told me you were in a band. Are you guys still looking for members?”
“Don’t-” Sting quickly blocked the chair before Rogue would sit on it, “uhm...invite him to your band! He’s basically tone-deaf!”
He regretted his words the second he saw Orga’s challenging smirk. The gloves were off. He needed to get them out of there quickly before Orga had a chance to humiliate him further.
“We’re all set, actually,” Rogue replied, eyes drifting across the room and taking in the mess with obvious distaste.
“Too bad, you guys are really good.”
“Oh, have you seen us play?” Rogue asked curiously.
“Not seen exactly, as much as heard,” Orga grinned cheerfully, “Sting plays your music all the time.”
That bastard!
Rogue was gazing at him, a surprised expression on his face, but at least it didn’t look like he thought he was a weirdo. There was still a chance to get out of this without suffering too much ego damage. He just had to get them out of there before Orga could say anything else.
“Guilty,” he smiled, “I like to listen to it sometimes, helps me get in the groove to study.”
“Sometimes?” Orga chortled.
“Anyway,” Sting coughed into his hand, “What are you up to?”
“Oh,” Rogue focused on him once again, “I was running some errands nearby and thought you might like to get some coffee.”
“That sounds great!” Sting agreed readily, “Just let me grab my stuff.”
He scrambled to grab his phone, keys, coat, and wallet from their various locations around the room, having no trouble finding them despite the mess.
“Oh, can I come too?” Orga asked in a tone that Sting immediately did not trust.
“No!” Sting answered, grabbing Rogue by the arm and pulling him towards the door.
“Oh, you’re right. You probably want some private time to suck face again, my bad.”
Sting stopped mid-step, not sure what to do with himself after his roommate blurted out that little tidbit, and not wanting to look at Rogue’s face either. It proved to be a mistake as the chair holding the wardrobe closed slid out of place and fell over, hitting the floor with a loud smack. The doors flew open, and an avalanche of dirty laundry cascaded out onto the floor.
Orga’s laughs echoed in the room, and Sting could feel his cheeks burning from mortification, but to his great relief, he could hear Rogue laughing along.
“Let’s-uh... go,” Sting managed to get out, still feeling like he’d like to find a hole to crawl into. He flipped Orga off and closed the door behind them, muffling the loud love song blasting from the computer speakers to accompany their departure.
“God, I’m so sorry for him, he’s-,” Sting gestured with his hands in frustration, not able to come up with a word to adequately describe his roommate and still flustered by what the idiot had said.
“That’s nothing, trust me, my older brother can be worse,” Rogue chuckled. “How did your midterms go?”
“I’m not sure, but I think I did okay?” Sting threaded his fingers through his hair. In truth, there were a few he wasn’t so confident about, and he’d been somewhat on edge waiting for the professors to post the results, but he didn’t really want to talk about that.
There was only one thing that had been on his mind since they’d last parted ways, and it was the kiss they’d shared. He’d worried about it, relived it, and pretty much obsessed over it since it had happened, but there had been no time to talk about it during midterm week.
Now he had all the time in the world, but no idea how to bring it up casually. God, he wanted to do it again, and he had a feeling Rogue did as well. The fact that he'd shown up on his doorstep the day after midterms were over at least betrayed that he'd wanted to spend time together, didn't it? But of course, Sting had no way to be sure, so he decided he’d let Rogue lead the conversation. ”What about you?”
“I’m only worried about Bio. The rest were pretty easy.”
As they discussed the Biology test, they reached the dorm’s exit, and Sting hurried to hold the door open for Rogue, smiling slightly when he saw the other’s eye roll at the gesture. His smile disappeared completely when a gust of cold air blew past him, making him grab onto his open coat and fold it tightly closed over his chest. “C-c-cold!”
“I have no idea how you’re going to survive the winter, if you think this is cold,” Rogue teased.
“You mean it gets worse?!” Sting replied in mock horror.
“Maybe we can find you a wool crop top,” Rogue snorted, “Come on, let’s go get that coffee before you freeze to death.”
After weeks of being cooped inside studying for midterms, many students were out enjoying what was a rather beautiful day for this time of year. The sun was out, and despite Sting’s complaints, it was relatively warm.
A short walk brought them to the campus coffee shop, a busy place called Heavenly Brews, which sadly did not live up to its name. It was convenient though, not to mention cheap, and as expected, it was full of other students who’d had the same idea. But the service was fast, and in less than ten minutes, they each had a large cup of piping hot coffee.
Sting insisted on paying, still wanting to make up for Orga’s...well, everything, and Rogue let him. Once back outside, they began walking in a random direction, moving away from the hustle and bustle around campus to more quiet places.
“Every damn time,” Rogue shook his head as he showed Sting his coffee cup, turning it around so it showed the name written on it.
Rouge.
Sting giggled, receiving an elbow to his side for his response. “What? It’s funny! Besides, that’s nothing. Try growing up with a name like Sting.”
He wrapped both hands around his drink, feeling its warmth seeping through the double cup as they walked. He recognized the area they were in from his morning runs. There was a small park further down the street that he’d often visited with Orga to throw a frisbee around when they were getting stressed.
Sting took in their surroundings, swiftly realizing he’d been so busy studying the last few weeks that he’d barely noticed the telltale signs of fall. Even though the leaves were not as brightly colored as those he was used to seeing in Edolas, they were still quite beautiful, covering the ground in a blanket of browns, yellows, crimsons, and oranges.
They reached the park entrance, and Sting decided it would be a nice place to talk. They walked past a game of touch football, making their way towards the small duck pond. The sound of the leaves crunching under their feet was satisfying, and he was pleased to find that with the ducks having already left to migrate south, the benches facing the pond were unoccupied. He immediately claimed one that was slightly hidden behind the thick trunk of a large oak tree, and Rogue sat beside him.
The air might be cold and crisp, but the sun’s rays warming his skin through the barren branches made it still pleasant enough to be outside. Or maybe, he guessed as he looked to his side, eyes drawn to Rogue’s lips as they blew small white clouds into his coffee cup, it had nothing to do with the sun at all.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Rogue asked when he caught him staring, lowering his coffee until his hands were resting in his lap.
Fuck it.
Sting put his coffee down next to him on the bench, freeing his hands so he could cup Rogue's rosy cold cheeks. He leaned in and kissed him, all sense of cold disappearing when Rogue deepened the kiss.
"I was just thinking about how much I've wanted to do that again," he confessed, still close enough for their lips to brush against each other with every word he spoke.
Rogue smiled sheepishly and asked, "And you really thought I'd get up before noon on a Saturday just to get sub-par coffee?"
"Hmm… true, you’re not a morning person at all,” Sting chuckled, “so I guess I should make it worth your while, then.”
He pressed his lips against Rogue’s again, soon forgetting the rest of the world around them. He had no idea how long they stayed lost in each other, but by the time they broke apart, their coffees had gone from scalding hot to barely warmer than the heat that was burning under his skin.
Sting was about to risk spoiling the moment by saying something possibly sappy or cliche when his stomach spoke up in his stead, unleashing a loud roar that made Rogue hack up a laugh.
“Wanna go out for lunch with me?” he asked when he was done laughing, finding it hard not to start all over again when he saw Sting’s pouty face.
"I think you already know the answer to that.” Sting got off the bench, pulling Rogue along with him, and despite feeling a bit nervous about it, he kept holding his hand as they passed other people enjoying the outdoors on their free Saturdays.
As they walked back towards the park’s entrance, Sting noticed kids playing around in the leaves, gathering them into big piles and throwing them around, reminding him of afternoons spent with Yukino when they were younger.
“I used to do that with my best friend when we were about that age,” The corner of his mouth curved up at the memory. “Did you do stuff like that?”
Rogue laughed heartily, “Every year. My dad and his best friend were the biggest kids in my family. So his daughter, my brother, and I would help them make these huge leaf piles. We’d come up with some rather creative jumps. My poor mom would totally lose it when she saw what we were up to.”
Sting snorted, thinking of how childish his own dad could be at times. It was something he’d always loved about him. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” His eyes twinkled with mischief as he pointed at a large leaf pile that sat a ways from where the kids played.
He was pleased to feel Rogue squeeze his hand briefly before issuing him a challenge, “Last one in pays for lunch!”
Rogue had already started his approach as Sting watched mesmerized until the words sunk in, “Hey! That’s cheating!”
He chased after him, overtaking him easily and laughing at Rogue’s protests. In the end, Sting slowed down and grabbed Rogue’s hand, counting down to one so they could both jump in at the same time.
Leaves flew all around them in a swirl of colors before blowing away. Sting stretched his body, much like a cat searching for a sunny spot, while still holding on to Rogue’s hand. When he was satisfied, he rested his head on Rogue’s shoulder, content to just lay there snuggled together for the time being.
When he’d first gotten to Magnolia for his exchange year, Sting hadn’t been sure if he’d made the right decision. He hadn’t made many friends, the weather was uncomfortable, and everything had been more difficult than he was used to.
Meeting Rogue had made him feel a little bit more at home in a foreign place, and although he knew he'd be moving back to Edolas at the end of the school year, he refused to deny the feeling that was bursting inside of him whenever they were together. So even though falling in love had never been part of the plan, it was far too late for him to resist.
Not that he really wanted to.
Sting turned over on his stomach, captivated by the warm fall tones reflected in Rogue’s eyes. “I missed you this week,” he admitted, nudging their faces closer together and running his fingers through Rogue’s hair, gently picking out some leaves.
They stared at each other until Rogue grabbed hold of Sting’s jacket, pulling him in for another kiss.
“Me too,” Rogue’s contented hum at their closeness warmed Sting’s heart, chasing away any lingering chill he’d felt.
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