Hi everyone!
This is my first Fairy Tail fanfic, so I hope that you all like it! I think that it would be safe to say that Erza is my favorite character in F.T and I think that her relationship with Jellal is an interesting one, maybe not the most healthy one but interesting nevertheless. But I haven't found a lot of good stories about them (if you know of any for them or any good F.T ones in general, I'd love some suggestions!), so I decided that I would try and write a story idea that had been growing in my mind for awhile now...this one!
I do not own Fairy Tail or the pic...I'm just responsible for bringing them all together.
Constructive Criticism and Questions are always appreciated!
-X- a later point in time
Erza Scarlet ran a sharpening stone down the smooth length of the 15th century blade, gently sharpening its edge as she tried to return it to its former slicing prowess as she reflected on her day. This sword had always reminded her of Gray because of its colors and shape, and the fact that when he and Natsu had come by once to see where she worked this had been his favorite sword in the whole museum.
She smiled slightly as she thought of that morning's walk to her gym to do her routine workout with the two boys, the soft calm before her day truly began.
She had arrived at the gym just as the front desk clock sounded 7:30 and had already started by the time Natsu and Gray had came stumbling in panting and wheezing at 7:35. She annoyedly had to remind them about how important it was to be on-time for appointments and, like the good friends they were, they hurriedly apologized multiple times to her for being late.
Their workout went well. She, of course, had solidly beaten the boys by the clock sound of 9; but they were improving and that's what mattered.
She eyed down the sword's edge, before testing it and nodding her head.
Yes, someday they may surpass me in strength and skill as both were quite good even for the level they are at now. She picked up the sword's sheath and slid the sword in with practiced ease, stopping when she heard it softly click into place.
The three of them had walked to the guild peacefully by 9:15 and even though she had only gotten back from her chosen job last night, the entire guild had somehow known that she was back in town.
Her smile turned into an slight frown as she thought about how her morning of light paperwork at the guild had ended, and her eyes got an angry light in them. Natsu and Gray were never going to get any higher in rank if they constantly picked fights with each other, or disobeyed the rules set by those above them in the chain of command!
Her frown stayed firmly in place as she set aside the stone and picked up a cleaning rag, but her mind had drifted away from the two boys. They were not the only ones that could benefit with learning to give respect to those of a similar ranking to themselves, indeed, a certain blond could also do with some lessons.
She sighed, flipped the cleaning rag over her shoulder and standing with the sword in hand.
She didn't understand why Master let Laxus behave the way he did, but she suspected that it had something to do with the lingering sympathy that he held for his grandson.
She walked down the long hallway of display cases to put the sword back where it belonged. Her thoughts now having drifted to her 12:30 lunch with Lucy at 8-Island, as that had been a pleasant way to start the afternoon. Lucy had told her all about this book that she's been planning to write and Erza had just been able to sit and listen to her friend's plans. It had been a hard morning, so it was nice to just have pleasant chats with a friend over some tea and good food.
She unlocked the display case with a key from her master set and put the sword in its place, then looked up thoughtfully at the ceiling as she relocked the case.
Lucy had seemed a bit nervous when Erza herself decided that it would only be fair to share some of her plans with her blond friend and proceeded to tell her about the workout plan that she had come up with to help Gray and Natsu get stronger, including how she would make them stick with it.
She chuckled to herself as she remembered how Lucy had quaveringly asked her if all that was really necessary. That girl could be so funny sometimes.
She walked down to another case and unlocked it to reach in with the rag.
She came here to her job as head Weapons and Armor Restorater at Magnolia's Museum after lunch had ended at 1:45 and had been working on restoring an old decorative suit of armor since 2.
She studied the suit with critical eyes as she rubbed. It was going well, but it would take another few days before it would be looking its best again.
She paused in her rubbing as she heard someone enter the hallway and quickly pulled her head out to look, ready to act should she need to- only to spot Reedus the manager of the museum.
"Good evening, Erza." He said as he approached her.
"Good evening." she responded with a nod as she picked up the rag she had dropped in the case, noting as she did that Reedus already had all of his things collected for the evening.
"Doesn't your shift end at eight, Erza? Why are you still here?"
"I was finishing that sword we had talked about a few days ago and I had a lot on my mind, so I lost track of the time."
"Well, I often lose all sense of time when painting as well, but you're going to have to hurry if you want to get to Mira's before she closes tonight."
"What time is it?"
"8:35."
"And Mira's closes at 9!" Erza said, eyes widening slightly as she spun on her heel and walked away down the hall towards the employees room to grab her things.
"Good night, Erza! I'm leaving now, so lock up the door you use to leave." Reedus called after the rapidly disappearing girl and she waved a hand back to him in acknowledgement and farewell.
-X-
Erza sighed softly to herself as she locked the large wooden door of where she worked, then lifted her head high and set off down the street.
The red purple sunset had long since faded, leaving only the darkening blue hues of the sky and the gleam of street lamps to light her way as she walked to her favorite cafe. She dragged her large rolling suitcase along and nodded respectfully to those that wished her a good evening as they passed until she saw the warm lights of the "Strauss Soul" cafe.
She pushed open its red door and heard the little silver bell peal softly as her eyes adjusted to the light. She turned slightly to hop the suitcase up the entrance step before turning back to look around with a slight smile on her face as she walked forward. The light wood floors contrasted with the dark brown trim of the crown molding and window frames, their lines softened with long dark green curtains gently pulled back from the windows and flickering red candles on every table.
She swiveled her head back around to speak to the unusually silent Mira behind the warm wood and lit glass counter, only to have her words of greeting die on her tongue as she stared at the cerulean haired man in her friend's place.
The first two things that her shocked mind registered was that one, he looked just as surprised at seeing her as she was him, and two, that he was hands down one of the most handsome looking men she had ever seen.
He had dark green slightly slanted eyes that were set in a kind, if somewhat serious looking face, with large red tattoos above and below his right eye. His somewhat disheveled bright blue hair seemed to clash a bit with the maroon uniform he was wearing, but the cut of it was flattering to his strong yet slim build.
The longer that they stood looking at each other, the more she felt like he was someone she once knew.
He blinked several times, then tried pulling a smile on over his shock and she could see his mind struggling to work again.
"W-wel-welcome. What can I get you this evening?"
She blinked and opened her mouth to speak, yet failed to make a sound. She cleared her throat as her first attempt at speech failed and glanced down at the counter menu for the name of her usual order as her mind stubbornly refused to think of anything other than the man before her.
"A-a Satan soul, please."
He nodded somewhat jerkily and began preparing her order, but she couldn't find a name tag on him to help her try and remember who he was.
"Where's your name tag?" She asked a little more forcefully than she had meant to.
He glanced down at the uniform shirt pocket over his heart, then glanced to the counter where he had been standing when she first entered. She looked down as well and saw the gold and black name tag laying face down on the counter, she looked back at him to see that he was rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
"Sorry. We were going to close in the next few minutes and since there haven't really been any people in here, I thought it would be fine to take it off."
She reached out to pick it up off the counter.
"Why do you not like wearing it?"
"It just feels odd to have my name out for anyone to see like that, but I suppose I'll have to get use to it."
"Mira would tell everyone your name even if you didn't wear one, and then it would be out just as quickly. Jel-jelal?"
He chuckled slightly as she struggled to pronounce his name on the tag, then spoke over his shoulder.
"Jer-al, it's pronounced Jeral. It's a weird old spelling of the name, so I can give you no reason as to why it's spelled differently than it sounds."
"Jellal is a nice sounding name though." She said as she sat on a bar stool to continue watching him, a perplexed look in her eyes as her mental search for a Jellal turned up nothing.
She gave a furtive glance down into the desserts display case under the high counter only to see that all the Strawberry Shortcake was gone. She sighed quietly in disappointment and looked up at Jellal to see him just about to add the final ingredient to her order.
"Wait!" She exclaimed, causing him to nearly dump the dark cherries on it anyway. "I would prefer Strawberries on it instead, if you have any."
He looked thoughtfully over his shoulder at her for a few seconds, then smiled.
"I think that we still have a couple in the back, let me go look."
He started walking to the swinging door behind the counter and glanced back at her as he pushed it open before walking into the large backroom.
She tapped her foot rhythmically on the floor as she waited, then started turning his name tag over slowly in her fingers. She couldn't understand how a man could look so familiar to her, but have a name she had never heard before. She had always considered herself good at remembering faces and names, but especially names. Why are you such a mystery to me, Jellal?
"You're in luck! We still have a few good ones back here."
"Excellent!" She smiled as he came walking back out, and he had just smiled back at her when something crossed her mind.
"I don't believe I ever introduced myself." She said as she watched him start cutting the berries in half. "I'm Erza, Erza Scarlet."
His whole body stilled as she spoke, but after a second he resumed his slicing.
"That's a beautiful name." He said softly as he added the berries and carefully poured the final drizzling of chocolate sauce.
"Is something wrong?" She asked as he turned to set her Satan soul desert down in front of her, carefully watching his face as he did. He was looking down at the plate, but then looked up at her face with a smile when she made no move to take it.
"Nothing's wrong, I just nearly got my gloved finger while cutting the Strawberries."
Erza gave him a searching look for a second, then nodded her understanding.
"That will be 563 jewel."
She nodded again while paying him the exact amount, and he handed her a fork with a flourish.
"Enjoy, Erza."
She smiled and looked down at her plate as he moved away, only to have a soft blush dust her cheeks as she saw that he had dribbled an extra bit of chocolate sauce to spell out her name with a perfect Strawberry half resting at the end.
She looked up, but didn't see him and correctly guessed that he was in the backroom. So after a quick glance around to be sure that no one was looking in at her from any of the windows, she pulled out her phone and took a picture of it. She never took pictures of food, as it was ridiculous and Natsu constantly sent her pictures of his extravagantly large proportions of meals, but this was different. This time she would make an exception.
She quickly put her phone away and waited for a minute till Jellal walked out again. A look of concern crossed his face when he saw that she wasn't eating, but then he suddenly slapped a hand to his forehead.
"What am I doing?! I forgot the necessary glass of milk! I'm so sorry, Erza."
He opened a chilled cupboard behind the counter and started pouring her a tall green-tinted glass of milk as she chuckled softly.
"It's perfectly alright, Jellal. I know that you haven't been working here long, so it's an easy mistake to make when one isn't familiar with Mira's sometimes overly-generous policies."
He winced slightly as he set the glass down next to her plate.
"That obvious, huh?"
"I'm a regular here, and as such I recognize everyones faces."
"Ah, now I feel a bit better."
He turned to go back to the kitchen until the clearing of her throat stopped him, and he looked back at her.
"I- I don't like to eat alone, so would you mind sitting with me? I'll finish quickly and get out of here so that you may finish your work here and go home."
He blinked several times and nodded before grabbing another bar stool and lifting it over the counter to sit on. He sat there for a few seconds and then set about making a delicious looking cup of creamy tea as she started eating, and after a minute of comfortable silence she decided to speak up.
"What are you making?"
"A cup of my sister's favorite tea for her." He said as he put the tea into a to-go cup. "She's had a difficult time adjusting to school, so I thought that I'd make this for her to take with her tomorrow."
"How kind of you." She said with a smile. "Where are you and your sister from?"
He stiffened and there was a beat of silence before he pointedly looked away from her, down at the cup in his hands.
"Edolas, we defected from Edolas."
She stopped eating and looked at his downturned face for a couple of seconds. Edolas was a huge militant kingdom that completely covered the continent adjacent to the one Fiore was on and was renowned for their extremely controversial and brutal enforcement of their laws.
She reached out and rested a hand on his shoulder, causing him to look up at her in surprise.
"I understand. I lived there was well when I was younger and am just glad that you and your sister managed to escape. I shall not tell anyone about it if you wish, but I do not hold the place of your birth against you or her as it's not something you can help."
"Th-thank you." He started saying more, but she leaned back into her seat and interrupted him.
"How old is your sister?"
He blinked in surprise at the abrupt change in conversation, but then leaned forwards slightly to rest his arms on the counter in front of him.
"She'll be turning 12 soon."
"What is her name?"
"Wendy."
"That's a lovely name. Where is she staying right now while you're at work this late at night?"
"She's staying at a friend's apartment until my shift ends, then I'm going to go there to get her and take her home."
"Oh? Why doesn't he just stay with her at your place? Surely that would be easier on you and her."
"...Well, his place is actually closer to her school than ours is, so it's a shorter amount of time that she's alone. Also I don't want to put him out anymore than I already have, he's the one that recommended I try getting a job here with Mira because he knew that she was a very kind and understanding woman. He's also a bit too tall of our apartment's roof, so he's constantly hitting his head on it when he comes over."
"What's his name?"
"Simon."
She dropped her spoon onto her empty plate and stared at him in shock.
"You know Simon?!"
He nodded slowly, not quite sure where this was going.
"That's what Simon was trying to tell me on the phone the other day! He had said something about a friend, but I was unable to hear him very well and it didn't sound urgent." She smiled at him. "You and your sister must have been what he was talking about, he must have wanted me to meet you."
"Perhaps..." Jellal said, his serous and suddenly concentrated face reflecting his racing thoughts.
She looked down at her empty plate, glanced up that the clock on the wall, then back at him as she slowly stood.
"I wouldn't think about it too much, Jellal. I've been friends with Simon for a very long time and this sounds like something that he would do for his friend."
He nodded somewhat distractedly to confirm that he had heard her, but his face remained unchanged. She bent slightly and grabbed the handle of her rolling suitcase, with these movements getting his full attention.
"I've finished and will now take my leave so that you can finally go home with your sister. Thank you for staying open late for me."
'It's no problem. Mira told me that one of her regulars was getting back in town and that she normally come in an hour or so before we close. So even though I didn't seem like it, I was slightly prepared for a late comer these past few days."
She smiled at him and he returned it with one of his own.
"Goodnight, Jellal. It was a pleasure getting to meet you, hopefully I will see you soon." She said as she shook his hand firmly.
"Likewise, Erza. Depending on what happens with Mira, you may even see me tomorrow if you come again."
"Good, I look forward to it." She said as she walked to the door, but she paused as on the threshold as she stepped out. "What's your last name?" She asked looking back in.
"Marvell."
"Goodnight, Mr. Marvell." She said lightly as the door closed behind her.
Jellal watched her go until she had vanished into the night, then he turned and slid down to the floor behind the counter.
Erza Scarlet! He knew that he had recognized her face, but the name had been like a sudden blast from the past as the memories had all come flooding back. The frightened, yet kind and brave redhead who had been so scared of the dark cells and chains. The one who he had spoken to time and again whenever he had gotten the chance, despite the horrible punishments that had befell him the few times he was caught sneaking back from having seen her.
He remembered her perfectly, but she didn't seem to remember him and he hoped that she never would. He could become friends with this wonderful woman if she didn't remember what he had been a part of, but he didn't think that she could ever forgive him if she remembered.
So, what did you think of this beginning? Let me know in a Review, and I will answer them down here with the next chapter!
Best wishes till next time!