Edolas: Thieves Guild Sabertooth

22

Now that he had figured out what the hell was going on, Sting had to decide what to do next. The plan couldn't be carried out without Rogue and they had no way of getting him back. The bills still needed paying, sadly, and they were woefully short on manpower.

Dobengal had to attend his official job as a waiter, and the restaurant was short-staffed.

Rufus had to watch the bar and could only do jobs at night, if at all.

Minerva had to stay at the Calla Police Station when possible, and as the daughter of the chief of police, her arrest would be devastating to Sabertooth.

Orga had gone off to who knew where 'until Rogue comes back'. Sting had no means of contacting him.

Lastly, Yukino was deep undercover in another city, far away from the guild.

Needless to say, morale was at an all-time low. Sting needed to come up with a plan to keep the guild afloat while babysitting a stranger in his boyfriend's body. He groaned, drawing the attention of Earth-Rogue.

Earth-Rogue had been acting cautiously, walking around slowly, if at all. When he looked at something, his stare was piercing enough for Sting to question if he was trying to tear a hole through it with his mind. He seemed to have trouble hearing him as well. In general, he looked lost and a bit anxious, that is when he wasn't turning his face into a near emotionless mask. When it came to Sting, however, he seemed to have an easier time perceiving him.

"Is everything alright?" Earth-Rogue asked, concerned.

"Yes, yes. I'm just trying to figure out what to do with our finances." Sting reassured him gently. He had enough to worry about already.

"For your guild? Can I help?" Earth-Rogue offered. Sting looked at him like he'd grown a second head.

"It's okay, I'm taking a break now anyway. You don't need to worry about that." Sting told him, getting up. "Do you want to come with me?"

Earth-Rogue got up and followed him out of the room, up the stairs. Rufus looked up when they walked past the bar. Sting walked Earth-Rogue to one of the tables in the corner and sat down. He handed Earth-Rogue the menu.

"Don't worry about prices, we're not paying." He informed him. Earth-Rogue nodded.

-

Yukino had no means of getting into contact with Sabertooth, and it was starting to piss her off. Couldn't Orga have at least dropped by to tell her how Rogue was?

-

They needed to do a job, and soon. Sting had managed to find a night when both Rufus and Dobengal would be available, but he needed someone to watch Earth-Rogue while he was out. The logical conclusion was to leave him with Minerva, though to say she was unimpressed was an understatement.

"And what, may I ask, shall I tell my father?" She demanded, glaring at Sting.

"I don't know, Minerva, tell him you're staying with a friend." 

"He's going to think I'm sleeping around unless he knows who it is!"

"Minerva, you are twenty-two years old. Have you ever even been on a date? He'll probably think it's normal. Hell, he might even be relieved." Sting insisted.

-

Eventually, she had agreed to watch the other Rogue, but only because she trusted him even less than regular Rogue. Knowing her father would insist on meeting whoever she would stay over with and on learning the address, she decided it would be safer to have Other-Rogue come over to her place. Sting had reluctantly agreed, given that she was his only option for babysitting.

Other-Rogue seemed to be stylistically challenged, given that he was wearing a coat over two button-down shirts. Her father would think she was friends with lunatics. Not that he would be wrong, but it would put a damper on her criminal activities. Thus, she insisted he change. His second attempt, though it was considerably better, made him look far too overdressed to be visiting a friend's house.

"I'm having enough trouble finding something I can stand wearing as it is." Other-Rogue complained,

"Try limiting yourself to one shirt." Minerva suggested, admittedly a little impatiently. They were going to be late. He shot her a glare. "Do you happen to have trouble with colors, or are they different in Earthland?"

"It's not my fault the other me can barely see." He grumbled, going off to get changed. Regular Rogue had the best eyesight in the guild. What was Other-Rogue used to?

He came back, having found an oversized blue turtleneck sweater that probably belonged to Sting, probably bought before he'd stopped growing. It didn't clash with the baggy jeans he had chosen either, so Minerva decided it would do.

She led him down the streets of Calla to her father's house and opened the front door. Her father was in the sitting room, reading the newspaper.

"Who is this, Minerva?" He rumbled, getting up to get a closer look. She could feel Other-Rogue freeze beside her, but she was calm. She and Sting had planned this out.

"That's my friend Rogue's brother. He doesn't do well alone and his brother's out of town, so he asked me to watch him." She lied smoothly, or at least she thought it was smooth.

"And why you? Couldn't you have told me sooner?" Her father asked. Good questions, and obvious ones at that.

"The person who was staying with him had an emergency. Not sure what happened."

"He looks old enough to stay on his own. What's wrong with him?" He scrutinized Other-Rogue. Other-Rogue looked at him without a hint of emotion on his face. Then he blinked, as though only just realizing Jiemma was there. Minerva could feel herself sweating. She'd hoped he wouldn't ask, as she was unsure of Other-Rogue's acting capabilities.

"I apologize. Could you repeat that please?" He said, perfectly polite.

"Why can't you stay home alone?" Her father asked gruffly.

"Oh, I stop noticing things when I'm upset. When our parents left, I blanked out and forgot to eat or drink for two days until Rogue found me. He doesn't want it to happen again." He explained blankly, staring into Jiemma's eyes.

"It's just for tonight. With the recent crime sprees, Rogue was worried he couldn't react in case of a break in." Minerva added quickly. Her father nodded, seemingly satisfied with the explaination.

Relieved, she took Other-Rogue upstairs to the guest room. When she turned around, he looked visibly exhausted, looking over his shoulder every so often.

Minerva barely slept that night. It was unlikely Other-Rogue had either. They got up earlier than Minerva usually did, allegedly so she could get to work on time, but actually so Other-Rogue could avoid her father.

Other-Rogue was visibly relieved when the 'Tiger's Maw' came into view. Rufus served them breakfast (Pancakes, Yay!) and debriefed her on how the job had gone. It had been in the next town over and had involved a string of burglaries. When Rufus told them that Sting had been hit by a crossbow, Rogue got up hurriedly to go check on him.

-

"Are you alright?" He heard Earth-Rogue ask as the door opened slowly. Sting was at his desk counting the money. The crossbow quarrel had barely grazed him and Rufus had bandaged his leg up for him.

"I'm fine, it barely touched me." Sting reassured him. Earth-Rogue came in, wearing what Sting realized was his sweater. He felt himself smiling, just a little. "How was your stay at Minerva's?"

Earth-Rogue's face closed off, even as he told Sting it had been good. Sting stood up, to Earth-Rogue's protest, causing him to rush over.

"What's wrong, Rogue?"

"Nothing. It's nothing." Earth-Rogue lied. Sting let it go.