Control

ⅬⅠ

"So..."

Unsure of where to begin, the two's gazes remained glued to the floor as the awkward tension filled the air. Fairy Tail was under reconstruction and could probably use Rin's assistance, but she decided to leave the hard work to the rest of the guild so she could fix her relationship problems.

Rin sat across from Sting at the desk in his Master's office of Sabertooth. They made sure to lock the doors behind them so they could have absolute privacy. Sting even forbid Rogue from leaving the main hall so his intense hearing ability couldn't kick in. The blonde was clearly on edge. He wasn't exactly hiding the fact that he continuously checked for a presence near the office.

He was leaned deep into the back of his plush velour chair. Usually with stacks of paperwork in front of him, he could never find comfort while sitting in this chair with all of his duties. However, the situation he was currently in was so off-putting, he wished Rogue would run in and drop a tall stack of letters.

Sting couldn't bring himself to meet Rin's eyes and she was honestly thankful for that because she felt nothing but shame for everything that happened. They both continued to blame themselves instead of actually talking.

Rin glanced up quickly and found that her mate was staring off into space with beads of sweat beginning to gather on his forehead. She sighed and finally locked her eyes onto his even though he continued to avert his eyes.

"Sting," she said breathlessly. The blonde timidly brought his sapphire eyes to meet hers, scared of what he'd find. "We can't just sit—"

"Are you gonna leave me?" He spoke quickly so she didn't have a chance to catch him off-guard. Rin was startled.

"What do you mean?"

"Are you gonna leave me? Are you done with me? Are we over?" The brunette shook her head rapidly at his fired off questions..

"What are you talking about?" A short silence consumed them. It made both of them shiver in umcomfort.

"I don't want you to disappear from my life again..." His eyes began to water slightly at the idea. It broke her heart. Carefully leaning closer to him, she gently clasped her hands around his gloved ones.

"Didn't I already tell you?" She didn't dare break eye contact with him. "I'm never leaving your side again... No matter what." Sting's hands shifted to hold hers, his thumb gently caressing the back of her hands.

"Rin..." His words definitely got caught in his throat. "I don't know what I'd do if you ever left again..."

"And that's why I'm not leaving," she reassured him. He clearly had trouble fully believing that. "Look, I know I've said that before, but I absolutely do not want to leave you ever again. Whatever I do, wherever I go, you're coming with me. And if you can't, then I'm not going... Because I don't want to risk—"

She couldn't continue her words because she knew she'd break down. He only nodded and gripped her small hands tighter.

"When you were in Alakitasia..."

"I'll tell you anything you want to know. Anything at all," she encouraged.

"Ajeel," he said with a tone a finality. That was it, he didn't say anything more than a name. Rin sighed.

"Ajeel was the only Spriggan that trusted me. Perhaps he was wrong to do so, but I'm glad he did." She smiled a bit, turning her eyes toward the wooden desk. "He was my best friend while I was over there, and he actually cared about me. I guess it was pretty obvious I was having a hard time without you..."