#bittersweeet

“Yukino!” Minerva cried, her trembling hand reaching out in a hopeless manner only after she realized it was too late.

Everyone in the guild stood frozen as they laid eyes on their celestial mage, who after being violently thrusted at the wall, slid down to the floor and landed in a continuously spreading pool of her own blood. Red streaked the wall behind her, leaving dark stains.

To say that Minerva was angry would be an understatement. As her guild mates quickly rushed towards Yukino, Minerva turned around to face Sting, and without even the slightest hesitation, punched him across the face, hard. He would’ve gone flying if Rogue wasn’t holding onto him so tightly in fear.

“What the hell is wrong with you, bastard?!” Minerva screamed, raising her voice, “HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO YUKINO?!”

Sting readjusted himself as if Minerva’s punch was nothing but a light touch to his cheek. “She was getting too close to my Rogue.”

“Excuse me?!” Minerva went in for another punch, but Orga grabbed her wrist, restraining her.

“My lady, please calm down, this isn’t how we should deal with this—“ he began, but was cut off when Minerva violently jerked her hand away.

“You nearly killed her!” she continued, rolling up the sleeve of her dress as she readied another punch. However, before she could land a blow, Rogue stood in front of Sting protectively, holding his arms out. Minerva scowled, ready to push him out of the way. “Move, idiot! I have to deal with him—“

“No, stop,” Rogue said weakly, his voice trembling. His knees shook suddenly, and he felt as though he might collapse any second. “Don’t hurt him.”

“You’re gonna forgive him? After what he just did?!”

“Calm down,” Rufus interjected. “There has to be a logical explanation.”

“I don’t care what kind of explanation he gives me, what he just did is unforgivable!” Minerva yelled, tears filling her eyes, threatening to spill out.

“Go help her,” Orga urged, trying to distract her from Sting. “She needs you.”

Minerva stopped, her heart beating quickly in her throat. After glaring at Orga for a couple of seconds, she angrily turned around in defeat, rushing towards Yukino and pushing everyone aside. She knelt down beside her, pressing the side of her face to Yukino’s chest. She didn’t hear anything, and she felt sick to her stomach.

“Is Yukino-san going to be—“ one of their guild mates began.

“Be quiet,” Minerva hissed. Her eyebrows knitted in fear and confusion as she pleaded for Yukino to be alive. It took a couple more seconds, but finally, when she heard a single heartbeat, she let out a breath of relief.

“Will she be okay?” Dobengal asked, twiddling his thumbs nervously.

“She should be fine if we get her to the hospital as soon as possible,” Minerva said in a calm but urgent tone. “I’ll transport her there with my space magic. I need some help, so I need a few of you to come along.”

A few of the guild members nodded, stepping forward. Carefully, Minerva picked Yukino up, not wasting even a second as she teleported the select few of people including herself and Yukino to the nearest hospital. Before she disappeared into thin air, she glanced at Sting one last time, giving him a threatening, impulsive glare filled with pure hatred. Once they were out of sight, Rufus and Orga turned to Sting and Rogue, giving them an angry but confused stare.

“What is the meaning of this?” Rufus questioned, crossing his arms across his chest.

“I-I can explain, I think,” Rogue swallowed, pushing Sting behind him.

Sting shook his head, pushing Rogue aside as he stood back up in the front. “I got rid of her because she was getting too close to Rogue. Did you not hear me before? Are you deaf or something?” Sting spit, nearly bashing his forehead against Rufus’s.

“What the—?” Orga began, startled. “Okay, I know Sting can be an asshole sometimes, but that went too far.”

“If you’d let me speak…” Rogue choked out, holding Sting’s arm. His expression looked mortified, but he was trying his best to remain strong.

Sting looked at him, an annoyed look still etched into his expression. “There’s nothing else to explain, Rogue. Come on, let’s go home. I’m tired.”

“Don’t you even care?” Rufus pressed. “You just severely injured one of your comrades, and you’re walking away as if it were mere child’s play?”

“I only care about Rogue,” Sting shot back, grabbing Rogue by the sleeve. “Now if you’ll excuse us, we have things to attend to. C’mon, Rogue.”

“Sting, wait.” Rogue shivered, pulling away from him. “Give me a chance to explain.”

Sting gave him a disapproving look. He made a tch! sound and continued out the door, and Rogue let out a frustrated sigh. He watched as Sting stood on the right side of the doorway, leaning into the back wall with his arms across his chest.

Rogue swallowed, facing Orga and Rufus with tears in his eyes. “I don’t know…what’s wrong with him…but he’s been acting so different lately…”

“Do you know what might’ve caused this?” Rufus asked, eyebrows knitted in thought.

Rogue nodded weakly. “I have an idea, but I’m not sure if it’s logical.”

“Anything will help,” Rufus said, and Orga nodded, “Tell us anything you know.”

Rogue took a deep breath. “Sting and I…we went to our favorite ice-cream store the other day, and we met this new lady named Angel. I didn’t trust her at all during our first encounter, and I knew I should’ve stayed away that day. Because as soon as we left the mall, Sting started acting completely different. He didn’t remember a lot of important events, he nearly…k-killed me, he j-just didn’t act like his usual self. I thought that Angel lady cast some sort of spell on him, so I went to go confront her, but when I got there, she was gone. I asked Meredy and the others where she went, and they said sh-she never existed. I was confused…and had no idea what to do. I ended up in the hospital, and Ultear told me that it was just a phase he’s going through. I almost believed her, because as soon as I returned to the guild, Sting was acting fine. And then now…he does this…I…I don’t know what to do…” he rambled on before his knees finally gave in. He fell to the floor, shaking violently. “I’m sorry…I’m so sorry…I couldn’t help him…I’m…so…sorry…”

“Hey— Rogue! Are you okay?!” Orga shouted, ignoring his cries as he reached out to help him. However, Rufus held him back as Sting rushed inside at the speed of light, lifting Rogue into his arms. Rogue’s face had gone paler than usual, almost transparent, and Sting could nearly see his own reflection in it.

He turned to face Rufus and Orga, shooting them a disgusted, vile look. “What did you do to him?”

“Nothing! He just panicked and collapsed! Now let us help him before—“ Orga began.

“Hell no, stay the the hell away from Rogue,” Sting hissed. “I’ll take care of him myself.”

“Do you even know how?” Rufus questioned, his expression shifting from curiosity into concern.

“Of course I do. Rogue is my boyfriend and my best friend. Just go read a book or something, this is none of your goddamn business,” Sting fired, storming out of the guild hall with an unconscious Rogue in his arms.

Rufus and Orga shared a worried glance while the rest of the guild members began cleaning the blood off of the walls. Whatever was going on, they sure hoped that it would end soon.

Because nothing was more chaotic or scarier than seeing their master act out in such a way to the point where he would severely injure one of his own guild mates. It frightened all of them, made them question their own safety, and even caused them to have trust issues.

The guild had spent so much time finally coming together, and now, slowly, they were falling back apart.

Only time would tell when and if everything would go back to normal.

~

When Rogue regained consciousness an hour or so later, he found himself in a soft, oddly familiar bed. As his eyes fluttered open, he saw blurs of yellow, red, and blue. Sting came into view when his vision cleared, his blond hair messy and unbrushed, his sapphire eyes fixated on the wall in front of him. Rogue tried to sit up, but all he felt was an excruciating pain in his head, causing him to let out a groan.

“Rogue, you're awake!” Sting exclaimed, turning to face him. “You okay?”

“Sort of…” Rogue mumbled, laying back down on the pillow. He felt a warm, damp feeling on his forehead and realized that Sting had put a towel there. He sighed, closing his eyes once more. “Is this your house?”

“Uh-huh,” Sting said, scooting closer to Rogue. “Do you need me to bring you anything? Water, maybe?”

Rogue nodded slowly, careful not to move his head too much. “Please.”

Sting stood up immediately and reached across to the nightstand, where a fresh glass of water was set and ready to go. He grabbed it with one hand and used his other hand to slowly help Rogue sit upright before handing him the glass. “Drink up.”

“Help,” Rogue coughed. He couldn’t move his arms for some reason, so Sting slowly held the glass to his lips and tilted it ever so slightly as he took sips. Once Rogue downed all the water, Sting stood up and set the empty glass aside, and then brushed loose strands of hair out of Rogue’s eyes.

“Did you…” Sting began slowly, clearing his throat. “have a panic attack?”

“At this point, I’m not really sure,” Rogue mumbled, shifting his position uncomfortably. Sting was about to answer, but Rogue stopped him. “Sting, we need to talk.”

Sting plopped down on the bed like a little kid, leaning backwards. “About what?” He began swinging his legs back and forth, seemingly lost in his own world. Rogue frowned at him.

“Have you checked on Yukino yet?” he questioned, watching Sting blearily.

“No, why would I want to check on that bitch?” Sting hissed.

“Sting!” Rogue scolded, mouth open slightly in shock. “She isn’t a—“

“You’re defending her, Rogue?” Sting was suddenly on his feet again as he turned around, eyes sharp with a deadly glare. Rogue swallowed the lump in his throat as a bad feeling washed over him. “You’re betraying me?!”

“Sting, calm down,” Rogue hushed in an urgent whisper, recalling what happened last time Sting’s mood changed.

“You have the nerve to defend her when she was talking to you, stealing all your attention, and even touching you—“

“Sting, please stop,” Rogue pleaded, a pool of sweat from heat and fear forming on the pillow beneath his head.

Sting’s rage only increased, but when he saw the tears pooling in Rogue’s delicate eyes, he felt something inside him, like a stab through the chest. It was a sudden hit of realization, forcing him to tone his actions down a little. He blinked twice, giving Rogue a once-over, and immediately felt guilt wash over him.

“Rogue…I…what happened?” Sting said slowly, as if he wasn’t sure about what he was saying. His mind suddenly became foggy and unclear.

“Sting, my love, there’s something…something wrong with you…” Rogue said forcefully, like the words themselves were poison. It pained him to say it, but he knew he had to open up this area of discussion sooner or later before things went too far— well, even farther than they already had.

“H..huh?” Sting fell back down on the bed, holding his head in pain. Rogue pushed himself forward, despite the own pain thrumming in his head, and embraced Sting tightly, placing soft, delicate kisses on his forehead.

“You’ve been acting so strangely,” Rogue whispered, letting his tears flow down his cheeks. “It’s…it’s making me worried.”

“Strange, how, Rogue?” Sting asked with a slight tremble in his voice as he slowly reached up to wipe Rogue’s tears away.

“You brutally attacked Yukino, you’re getting too possessive, your mood keeps switching from innocent and happy to scary and angry,” Rogue said, trying his best to hide the sadness in his voice.

Sting suddenly felt sick to his stomach. “I seriously did that?” He leaned into Rogue’s chest, nuzzling into it as he closed his eyes tightly. “What’s happening to me, Rogue? I don’t remember any of that…I…I feel so dizzy…”

“I want to help you so badly, but I don’t know how…” Rogue pulled Sting closer, burying his head in Sting’s soft blond locks. “I don’t want to lose you. I’m going to do everything I can to turn you back to normal.”

Sting nodded, and Rogue could tell from the dampness of his own shirt that Sting had been quietly crying. He felt a twinge in his heart as he rubbed his boyfriend’s back slowly, trying his best to soothe him.

The two of them sat like that for a couple of minutes, nearly an hour, when suddenly, something hit Rogue. Not literally. A realization, the answer, came to his mind so unexpectedly that he almost didn’t believe it. However, it would be a lie if he said he liked what the solution was. He mentally called himself stupid for not thinking of it earlier as he slowly pushed Sting off of him.

“That’s it…” he whispered mainly to himself. “I know…I know why you’ve been acting this way!”

“Y-you do?!” Sting exclaimed, eyes widening. “Wow, Rogue, you’re so smart, no wonder—“ He paused, giving Rogue a weird look as he watched him slowly get out of bed, a forceful smile plastered onto his pale face. Rogue looked hurt for some reason, and Sting didn’t understand why. “Rogue?”

Rogue ignored him, grabbing all his things and stuffing them into a backpack. He was glad he had some of his stuff over at Sting’s house, like clothes, toiletries, and pillows. Sting noticed that he looked a bit hesitant as he was shoving everything into his bag, but he was in a rush for whatever reason, and Sting was left clueless.

“Um, Rogue? What are you doing?” he questioned, watching as Rogue hurriedly packed up as if he were in a race against time.

“Sting,” Rogue said with a sigh. Sting could tell he was trying to sound happy, but he could practically feel the pain in his heart. Sting’s own heart started beating a mile a minute, afraid of what he was about to say. “I know what I can do to help you.”

“What…?” Sting looked at him intently, suddenly feeling nervous. He felt as he were going to throw up any second now. He didn’t even know why, because if Rogue had a solution, why would that be a bad thing? His senses were telling him that something was off though, that he wasn’t ready to hear what Rogue was about to say next.

“Take care of yourself,” Rogue forced out, giving him a sad smile.

“Wh-what?”

It took a minute for Sting’s mind to process what was going on, but when he realized it, it was already too late. As he scrambled to the front door with tears in his eyes, reaching out to grab a bit of Rogue’s cape, he had already disappeared into the shadows, a tiny piece of his cape slipping through Sting’s gloved fingers, leaving not a single trace behind.

The only thing left behind was Sting. As a confused, lonely and heartbroken mess.