Bittersweet

Chapter 2: Lost Memories

"Sting, can you please stop eating those?" Rogue asked in a worried tone, glancing at his boyfriend.

Since the second they stepped out of the mall, Sting had been stuffing his face with the PassionParfaits he purchased. He had ten at the beginning, but now he was down to only four. And it hadn't even been five minutes since they left the shopping center.

When Sting didn't answer, which was kind of strange, Rogue took a deep breath. "Dear, how much did all of that cost you?"

Sting swallowed what was in his mouth and turned to face the shadow dragon slayer. "I got 'em for free. That Angel lady said it was free of charge. I dunno why but it sure worked on my side."

He returned to eating them again, and Rogue couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart. Why did he feel so...envious of this woman? She had nothing he had, yet he still felt like punching her in the face or strangling her throat. What a pleasant turn that took.

To get his mind off his violent thoughts, Rogue decided to reminisce about Meredy.

"Hey, do you remember the day we met Meredy?" Rogue asked, a small smile forming on his lips.

"Um, no actually," Sting answered, throwing PassionParfait number six into a nearby trashcan. He pulled out the seventh one and started eating it.

Rogue was a little shocked from his answer. Sure, Sting didn't have the best memory in the world, but he always kept important dates in his head. Like the day he met Rogue, which is the most important day to him, and the days he met his other friends, along with their birthdays. Those were things that Sting never forgot. So clearly, Rogue had the right to be surprised when he couldn't remember the day they had met their cheerful friend.

"No? But...you always remember the times when you meet important people..." Rogue told him, his worry rising.

"Eh, I dunno Rogue," Sting said, not even caring in the slightest. "What's it matter anyway?"

Well that didn't sound like Sting at all. Rogue's mind immediately went to Angel, thinking that she may have cast some sort of spell on him, but he didn't believe she could pull off something like that in such a short amount of a time, let alone in public.

Rogue refused to give up on this. He guessed it was fine that Sting didn't remember the day, but he would surely have to remember this one special time the three of them shared together.

"Okay, fine," Rogue said with a sigh, his confidence faltering. "But I know you remember this. Remember that time a few years ago, when you, me, and Meredy hung out? We were at the park, sitting on a branch together, and then all of a sudden we could feel and sense each other's thoughts. You know, the time when we realized and found out our true feelings for each other? Even though we didn't find out till later that Meredy had secretly set up a sensory link between us, it was special because that was when we finally got together...as a couple..."

"Must've been an awesome day," Sting responded as he continued eating spoonfuls of the dessert.

Must've? Rogue thought, slightly confused. He was joking, right? How could he forget the day he claimed was on his top five favorites? Hell, how could he forget a day as important as that one? That day meant everything to Rogue, and Sting had said the same thing.

"Sting, I think your mind is all messed up from eating all of those stupid things," Rogue pointed out, grabbing the eighth PassionParfait out of Sting's hands. "You might have a brain freeze."

"What makes you say that?" Sting asked, a bit annoyed. He extended his arm towards Rogue to get the cup back but Rogue held it out of his reach. "I'm fine, Rogue! Give me back my damn PassionParfait!"

"Sting," Rogue said in a strict tone. "Stop. Eating. Them."

"Make me!" Sting argued, tackling Rogue and grabbing the cup. He stuffed the remainder of it into his mouth before tossing it away.

"Go pick that up!" Rogue yelled, watching the empty cup land in the grass. He turned back to Sting, a glint of disappointment residing in his ruby eyes. "Since when do you litter?!"

"Since now, smartass," Sting scoffed, pulling out PassionParfait number nine from his bag. "Who gives a fuck? People litter all the time. It's not like it's the end of the world if I leave one thing on the ground. You're such a worrywart. Stop worrying about the dumbest things."

Rogue froze, a bit hurt by that statement. The tone in Sting's voice didn't make it sound like a joke. What was going on? Rogue didn't like Sting's behavior one bit. He assumed that Sting eating all of those desserts might've made him a little crazy, so after Sting had finished the ninth one, he reluctantly hit him, this time very hard and on purpose.

Sting didn't even have a chance to react because he didn't see it coming. The second Rogue's fist made contact with his abdomen, he passed out. Rogue felt super guilty, but he was starting to get worried about Sting's well-being so he had no other choice.

Rogue picked Sting up bridal-style and carried him all the way back to their house. It didn't take him long to arrive, due to the fact that the mall was not too far from where they lived.

When he opened the door, Frosch and Lector greeted him with worried looks, but he assured them that everything was okay. He took Sting up to their shared bedroom and carefully set him down on the bed before tucking him in. Rogue placed a kiss on Sting's forehead, hoping that it would ease his probable brain freeze and also to express is endearing love.

"Is Sting gonna be okay?" Lector asked, walking into the bedroom. "I know you said that he would, but I'm worried."

"Fro is too," Frosch agreed with a small frown.

"He will be," Rogue assured again. On the inside, he too was worried. Probably more than Frosch and Lector combined. He just had to hope that Sting was just moody and tired, and that everything would be better after he woke up.

Rogue couldn't take his eyes off of Sting. His usual tanned face was slowly draining of color, droplets of sweat glistened on his temples, and a painful expression etched in his features. His mouth was slightly open, and his breathing was a bit off.

Rogue knew he had to keep hoping for the best, no matter how concerned he was.

"What happened, anyway?" Lector inquired, disrupting Rogue's trail of thoughts.

"Uh..well..I bought him some dessert at Cream Sorcière and he got addicted to it...so he ended up eating a lot and passed out," Rogue lied, refusing to tell them the truth. He bit his lip, feeling bad about lying to them. He had to admit, however, that at least it was better than telling them that Sting was acting strange and that he literally had to knock him out to prevent anything worse from happening.

"Sounds like Sting to me," Lector laughed nervously. "Will you be watching over him?"

"Of course," Rogue answered. "I'll be by his side until he wakes up."

"Okay!" Lector exclaimed, his mood lifting. "Fro and I will be at the park. Just come get us if you need anything!"

"Fro thinks so too!" Frosch added while following Lector out the door. The two exceeds left the room, leaving Sting and Rogue alone.

Rogue cupped Sting's face in his hands, the frown still on his face.

That damn Angel, Rogue thought, his eyebrows furrowing in anger. He wondered what she could've done to made Sting act up like that. Rogue slowly felt his mind being driven to paranoia as vexatious possibilities entered his trail of thoughts.

He was just about to silently curse her out when he felt Sting grab his hand and smile in his sleep. Rogue paused, unable to deny the fact that Sting looked really adorable. Maybe he was overthinking it. Sting probably was just tired and moody earlier, and he would be back to his normal self after a nice rest. Rogue nodded, keeping the positive thought in mind.

He quickly stripped off his boots and his cape, crawling into bed with Sting. He wrapped his arms around Sting and nuzzled into his chest.Everything's gonna be okay, he thought. Rogue squeezed Sting's hand tightly, slowly closing his eyes. The small smile remained on his face as he drifted off into sleep.

Only if that smile was able to last.