A/N: I was in the writing mood for some smut, so I wrote one featuring ErzaxJellal. I'm not quite sure where to go with this. I have a ton of ideas in my head, but none of them feels ~right~ with this couple, so for now, this will be marked complete until I deem otherwise.

Anyway, Fairy Tail doesn't belong to me.. it belongs to Mr. Mashima.

This fic is rated M. M! And by some weird happening that had you looking over the rating, here is my warning: There will be mature content(sex) in this chapter, so please do not read if you are offended by such things.

A Shade of Scarlet

How it got up to this point, he hadn't the slightest clue. The last few hours became a blur to him, their conversations were like an echo of a memory he tried so hard to remember. Each moment he spent with her were beginning to merge into one huge cluster of images he couldn't recognize. Even so, he wasn't going to complain. Fate had granted him another gift, and he would be a fool of a man to refuse it a second time.

The sound of her heavy breathing spurred him on with a confidence he didn't know he possessed. Jellal was like a starving man, taking what she offered without thought, devouring every piece of herself, and drinking her in until he was fully satisfied. He was acting completely on instinct, and right now, what his instinct was telling him was that he take her. Now.

They were both still in their clothes; she in her purple two piece nightwear, and he in his usual traveling attire, save for the long black coat. It was an unconscious decision on both of their parts, he knew, but the voice inside himself pushed at his restraints and clawed at his will. It urged him to strip them both of their boundaries and the consequences be damned!

The woman beneath him moved and arched against his unyielding body. Her ivory skin glistened with a thin layer of sweat, scarlet hair spreading around her head like a bloodied halo. Her brown eyes appeared even darker, glazed over with a lust that twisted and turned at his loins. The image he witnessed was Erza in her rawest form, and she couldn't have looked more beautiful than she was right now.

Her clothing was sticking to her like a second skin, and it was becoming unbearable for Jellal. The swell of her breasts heaved under the force of her gasps, her nipples hardened into small like peaks that begged for his attention. His fingers itched to touch them, to touch her, and take every inch of her into his mouth until she screamed his name.

He wasn't sure if this should go any further, but Erza seemed to make the decision for him as she pulled his shirt over his head, her fingers frantically unbuckling the belt of his pants. Jellal immediately stopped her, his own consciousness screaming at him as he did so.

"Are you sure, Erza?"

"I've never been more sure of anything else."

His doubts about this was washed away by the confidence in her voice, and he quickly divested himself of his clothing before she changed her mind. Erza peeled her own garments from her body, her eyes never leaving his face. Jellal stared, feeling his need for her growing with every passing second he watched her. Once again, they came together, their bodies molding perfectly against one another.

He wanted to take the time he knew she deserved, but time wasn't one of the things he had. He was a wanted man; an escaped convict, and it was dangerous for him to stay in one place for so long. Erza was one of the very few people he knew he could trust, but by her very own affiliation with him, she could face heavy trouble with the magic council as well.

They all knew he and Erza had a history, and by that fact alone, they would watch her with the off chance that they would catch him with his guard down.

But just this one time, he had risked both of their freedoms because he was too weak to avoid her any longer. And with just one word, she had welcomed him into her arms without hesitation. Erza wasn't a stupid woman, either. She must have known the risks when she invited him to stay with her tonight.

Jellal buried his face in the softness of her hair, his arms going around the small of her back. He eased her up and away from the bed, shifting between her legs. He gave one sharp thrust, finally burying himself deep inside her.

Erza cried out at the sudden intrusion, her face laced with a pain that had Jellal's blood running cold. He was struck with confusion, but then realization came over him.

"Virgin?" Jellal breathed, his brown eyes widening in shock. "You're a virgin, Erza?"

Erza could only nod her head, her eyes tightly shut, body tense.

Jellal's heart gave out, slowly easing himself out and away from her. To cause her this kind of pain, it would be another sin cast on top of the ones he already had.

"No!" Erza gasped, pulling him back down to her. "It's okay. It didn't hurt that bad, I was just surprised."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I know you, Jellal. You would have left, and I didn't want that."

She was right. He would have left. It would have taken every ounce of his will to do it, but he would have walked away from her. Why it never occurred to him that she might be untouched, he didn't know. Erza was a beautiful woman, but he knew that she didn't have sexual relationships, or any relationships at all for that matter. He should have realized it, but he was too focused on his own personal demons to give anything else a second thought.

"I'm sorry."

Erza just shook her head and smiled. "It's alright, just don't stop."

Jellal obeyed, forcing himself to move with a careful slowness that had him testing his character. It was difficult to think of anything else when her heated grip around him was bordering on the thin line of both pleasure and pain. His eyes sought her own as he focused on her face, taking great a interest in her expressions as it changed from a one of total discomfort to pure pleasure. He started a slow, steady rhythm, watching Erza's eyes flutter open, close and back to open again. He held back the impulse to quicken his pace, but her reactions had him wanting to study her face with his teasing.

She was extremely receptive against his efforts, the sound of her sighs like music to his ears. He pushed down on her, his hands gripping at her thighs, pulling them up and around his waist. Erza followed his lead and locked him between her legs, holding him there.

"Oh," she breathed, her eyes going wide. He was pulled deeper into her, his own breath coming out in short gasps. Jellal's ears caught the whisper of his name on her lips, chanting like a mantra. He lowered his face to hers, taking her mouth with his own in a deep kiss. She responded eagerly, burying her fingers through the thickness of his hair.

How he got so lucky with her, he hadn't the slightest clue. In his eyes, Erza was always the untouchable Titania, a goddess he believed that would forever be out of his reach. Never in his dreams would he be able to have this with her, but here she was, accepting every part of himself that he had to offer with both hands. Everything he had done in his pathetic twenty-six years of existence, nothing ever came this close to the blissful completion he was feeling with her right now.

Jellal had many regrets and made a lot of terrible mistakes, but after tonight, he knew he would be able to die a happy man.

Erza moved against his body with a sense of urgency that had him noting she was close. She was tightening around him, the heels of her feet pushing him deeper, faster, harder, and he was left with the feeling of his own release building up with every move she made.

With a cry, she came first. Jellal struggled to keep his eyes open. Her face had a look of unadulterated pleasure, and he was sure to memorize every expression, every sound in the moment of her release. She kept moving, moaning, crying out his name, and Jellal finally let himself experience the making of their own private paradise.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed, but when he raised himself from her, he saw the look of completeness on Erza's face. And knowing he was the one responsible for it, an intense feeling of pride came to him, pooling inside his chest.

"Jellal." It was a simple statement of his name, her hands reaching out to cup his face. Jellal kissed her again, a simple act that always left both of them breathless. He wanted Erza with a desperation he never felt before. He wanted her, he wanted to be with her, but he wouldn't let himself that kind of happiness. His refusal of a life with her was his own punishment for the horrible acts he committed against her and her friends.

There was a lot of bad blood between them, a past that Jellal wished to forget. He knew the atrocities he committed would forever haunt him. He knew he wouldn't be able to fully forgive himself for his mistakes, but in an act that surprised him, Erza had done just that. The compassion she showed Jellal moved him. He didn't deserve it, not at all.

But, he realized, that was just how Erza was. She was so full of compassion and love, strength and forgiveness. And she didn't just show it to him, but to everyone that she crossed paths with. He never met anyone else quite like her, and he hoped with all his might that she would never change that part of herself.

They laid together in a sweaty heap, their arms around each other. He let himself have a moment of reprieve before he believed his time with her was up. Jellal waited until he felt the relaxed rhythm of her sleeping before he got up to dress. It wasn't long before he heard her shift, the heavy sensation of her eyes boring onto his back.

He turned to face her. She looked so deliciously tempting with the white sheets wrapped around her naked body. He wanted nothing more than to join her back into bed and sleep for the remainder of the night together. But time didn't allow him that kind of comfort, and because of this, he was left taking what he could get.

"I have to go," he said.

He watched as her gaze lowered from his face, a look of understanding passing over her eyes. "I know."

"I'm sorry," he apologized. Erza smiled. It made her look so young, and it had Jellal being reminded of their recent age gap. It was easy to forget that she had been asleep for seven years while he continued to live and age. It was a hard concept to accept, but that was just how the way things were now.

"I know."

"Erza."

"I know," she repeated. "And it's okay."

"I don't know when, but I'll be back," he said. "I promise."

"You don't have to promise me," she reasoned. "Because I know you will."

"Erza, I..."

"I know, Jellal. Me, too."

Jellal smiled.

They didn't say it, and they didn't have to. Both of them knew of their feelings for each other. Despite their complicated relationship, their feelings were simple. Powerful, but simple. He loved her and she loved him. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do to make her happy, and he knew that she felt the same way. It was a truth that took a weight off his shoulders.

Jellal turned from her, leaving out from the way he came. Through the window, he slipped away and back into the darkness of the night.

If this life had taught him anything, it was how to play his cards right. Jellal was a patient man. He could wait, and until the time when fate granted him a third gift, he would be satisfied with that one taste of her. That was a privilege he would gladly allow himself to have.

He looked forward to their next meeting.