*peeks in from a secret corner of the Neverrealm*

Hi everyone. It's Goddess here. Now, before you all start with the PMs and the reviews shouting at me, trying to strangle me and attempting to take my holy powers (lol, what holy powers?) I would really appreciate it if you'd read my profile. All information on The Scarlet Flash and what is happening with that is posted there, and please... please don't post reviews here with questions about TSF, as I will ignore them.

Anyway, this is a going to be a seven chapter drabble series from the tumblr prompts for Jerza Week. Before you ask, I am not doing the prompts in order, as I just write what comes to mind surrounding these prompts. You might get 3 chapters a day from now on or no chapters, depending on how fast I get them out. Some will be funny, others bittersweet, others so angsty you'll probably die. I will get them all published eventually though, I hope. I also don't have a tumblr account, so if someone could link this on the page I would be very grateful :)

The image is by rboz on tumblr. If you haven't seen their work... well, you haven't lived. I'd highly recommend going and checking their tumblr out.

First up is "Cake", because I thought of this little story this morning as I was eating breakfast. I hope you enjoy. Warning: Typo minefield awaits...


He was pacing. He hated it when he did that, but today wasn't an average day.

No. He had been at Fairy Hills a few weeks earlier visiting Erza when he had spotted it: the calendar on her wall. Not that calendars frightened him, it was just that on this particular calendar one certain date had been circled, some cursive scrawl he assumed was Lucy or Levy's reading 'Erza's birthday! Time to celebrate!'

Erza's birthday. Who knew one little date would cause him so much trouble. He had realised in the instant he had seen the message that he would have to get her something. That's what friends did, right? Would she be expecting something from him though? And what about size? Large? Small? Sentimental? Funny?

Pausing in his panic-pacing between two large trees, he whipped his head back to moan at the sky. Why did this have to be so difficult? Couldn't there be like… a manual or something?

He chuckled almost darkly to himself. Yep, the 'What to get the Girl You've Been Crushing on Forever but Rejected due to the Fact that You're a Wanted Criminal and you Killed all of her Friends Guide', complete with bonus chapters specifically for kick-ass, gorgeous redheads.

Still. He stripped a length of bark away from the nearest tree and began to shred it into tiny pieces.

Armour? No, she had enough of that, and he knew from (stalking her) her friends that she had most of her outfits custom-made anyway.

Books? No… he knew she liked to read, but he had no idea what genre she preferred. Besides, he'd be willing to bet his favourite green coat that Levy and/or Lucy had this present covered.

So what then? He knew he should have asked her for ideas when he was at Fairy Hills all those weeks ago, but he had become too nervous and ended up jus-

"Jellal?"

Releasing a very non-manly sounding yelp, he jumped at least five feet into the air and spun to find Meredy standing behind him, a knowing smile stretched across her face.

"Are you… okay there?" He could tell from her smirk that she knew the answer and was going out of her way to tease him. He dropped the shreds of bark still in his hands and straightened out his jacket, trying to look nonchalant. "O-of course. What can I do for you?"

"Listen. I was talking to the others and we think we've come up with a solution to your… uh… problem. We know you're completely hopeless when it comes to Erza-"

"Hey!"

"-so we thought we'd give you a hand."

Give him a… what? Not really trusting what Meredy and the other, newer members of his guild had in mind, he waited as the pinkette produced a large square box from behind her back, warily taking it from her. With a sigh, he flipped open the cardboard lid and froze as his eyes caught the large strawberry cake sitting inside.

It looked… delicious. He was never one to appreciate sweets that much, but even he wouldn't hesitate to take a bite out of this creation. It was huge for a start, thick white icing layered generously across the top and swirled in fancy patterns around the edges. There was a ring of strawberries dusted in icing sugar spanning out from the centre as well as chocolate decorations adorning the sides. From the very middle, a large chocolate flake of sorts rose up to complete the masterpiece.

"Wow… Meredy… Where did you…"

The younger girl laughed. "Ah Jellal, a girl has her ways. We just thought that Erza might like to have a nice cake for her birthday. She does eat at least twenty a week, and this one looks extra good."

"I- I really don't know what to say. I think it's a great idea. I just hope it doesn't ruin before I get to Magnolia."

"Oh, it won't. Trust me." Meredy somehow managed to smile even wider. "Now get out of here or you'll miss her birthday and all of our hard work will have been for nothing!"


He arrived at Fairy Hills later that day, just before sunset. He knew Erza would likely have plans with her guild, and that he should go and see her as soon as possible, but he did spend some time having a little Jellal-panic out the back of the girls' dorm before he built up enough courage to climb up to her window.

Knocking on the glass, his breath caught as Erza walked out of the bathroom and she saw him.

She was dressed in a floor-length black dress, the sweetheart neckline emphasizing her generous chest and curving into her waist perfectly. The two straps that held the dress in place ran up and around to tie behind her neck, the ribbon trailing down to end just where the fabric began again at the small of her back, as the back of the dress was non-existent. Her hair, which he was so used to seeing out, was gathered up in an intricate bun, scarlet wisps springing free to fall in soft curls on either side of her face. She didn't have any jewellery on yet, but he assumed that would come soon.

By God, she's beautiful.

"Jellal? I said, do you want to come in?"

Oh crap! He had just been staring off at her and completely zoned out to her opening the window and inviting him inside. Focus Jellal! Focus!

"Uhhh… thanks," he mumbled, sliding down from the sill and into her room. She shut the window behind him and turned to lean against it, probably waiting for him to say something…

…to say something…

Say something Jellal!

"Uh… Yo-You look beautiful."

You're an idiot Jellal…

"Th-thank you," she stuttered, face turning three shades redder as her hands began to fiddle with the fabric bunched around her knees.

She's so cute!

"Y-yeah. Well, Lucy and all of the other girls wanted to go out to dinner. A… A kind of girl's night thing."

"I see." He was too scared to talk now after his last outburst, so the two stood in relative awkwardness until he remembered the box in his hands.

"W-Well," he paused to clear his throat, "I just thought I'd, uhhh, bring you something. F-For your birthday of course! I mean…" he sighed as he thrust the cake-box out towards her. "Here."

Eyes wide at his sudden outburst, Erza tentatively reached forward and took the box, beginning to untie the red ribbon Meredy had put around it. "You really didn't have to Jellal. I don't need muc-" Her voice trailed off as she lifted the lid and caught the cake sitting inside.

Before he could react, she was moving, rushing towards her kitchen area and scrambling with the nearest cupboard. Balancing the box in one hand, she fished out a large fork with the other and proceeded to stab herself a slice of the cake without even cutting it up as he stared on, wide-eyed.

Well, at least she seemed happy. Perhaps he should offe-

"Uhhh, Jellal?" He paused as she glanced from the box to his face and then back again, completing the movement about three times before continuing. "I-Is this a joke of some kind?"

Unsure of what she meant, he moved to her side and looked down into the box, his breath catching as he saw that the glorious cake – that magnificent looking cake that he had been convinced would make her happy – stood untouched in the box…

…with Erza's fork passing straight through it.

What? What what what!? "Erza! I- I mean… I didn't-"

"Th-this is like a Thought Projection, right?" Erza mumbled, hiding very poorly her clear sadness over the loss of edible cake.

"No! I swear…"

Why would he make her a fake cake? Besides, his Thought Projections were of people, not cakes. This… this seemed more like…

…an illusion.

He would be in jail once more in a few hours. Crime: the murder of his entire guild.

Why would they do this to him!? Did they want him to suffer? He should have noticed something was up – Meredy seemed way too happy. And why on Earth Land would his guildmates help him anyway? They practically hated his guts, so it would seem so much more reasonable that they'd-

"Wait… What's this?"

He paused in his guild-murdering plans to turn back to Erza, the scarlet-haired Mage staring down in confusion at the cake box. Crossing the few steps to her side again, he glanced down to see that the cake illusion had vanished. Where an empty box should have remained though, sat a small, velvet case.

His mind went blank in an instant.

Eyebrows creased in confusion, Erza plucked the velvet box out, tossing the cardboard one to the side on her countertop. Fingers shaking slightly, she reached up and flicked the container open before he could say anything, eyes going wide as she spied whatever lay inside.

"Erza! I can explain… I mean, it's not what it… I didn't mean-"

"Jellal." Her voice was a whisper so soft he almost missed it. "How did you ever…?"

She finally lifted whatever was inside out of the box for him to see, and he couldn't help but sigh in relief when he saw that it wasn't a wedding ring. He knew his guildmates were cruel, but at least they had limits. Still, the gift inside was a ring; a large one with a gold band and set with an intricately cut garnet that pulsed almost like a heart under the lights in Erza's room.

"I… I don't know what to say." His eyes were drawn to her face by the waver in her voice and… wait! Was she tearing up!? "I don't know how you knew, but thank you Jellal. Thank you!" He froze as she suddenly leapt towards him, arms around his waist as she buried her smiling face into his chest.

"Y-You're welcome," he muttered, still trying to process the last five minutes and exactly what had happened. They both jumped a good foot when the cuckoo clock on the wall suddenly struck 7'o'clock, moving back from one another.

"I told everyone that I'd meet them in town at seven," Erza muttered, "I guess I should go."

"Sure. I wouldn't want you to be late." He didn't miss that she had slipped the ring onto her left hand. "I hope you have fun."

"Will I- Will I see you again soon?"

He had to swallow harshly past his dry throat at her words. "Sure. We're planning to halt some drug-smuggling operations in Shirotsume next week. I'm sure we can pay a visit then."

"Okay." There was an awkward silence as they both paused, though she seemed to be wanting to say something, so he was waiting for her without speaking.

"See you then." With a suddenly fierce expression she crossed the small distance between them, reaching up with her right hand to cup his left cheek and she leaned up and quickly kissed him on the other. And then, without a word, she grabbed her coat and marched to the door, slamming it shut as she departed in the blink of an eye, a blush covering her entire face.

"H-Happy birthday, Erza."


He skipped back to his guildmates location.

No…

He flew.

"Oh Lord," Sawyer mumbled as he stumbled into their camp, as he was unable to keep the goofy smile off of his face.

"Stop it." Meredy playfully smacked Sawyer's shoulder. "I think it went well, don't you?"

"He got a kiss out of her, if that's what you mean," Erik bluntly reported, joining the others by the fire as he used his annoying mind-reading abilities, "even if it was just on the cheek." For once, Jellal was too happy to bother telling the Poison Dragon Slayer to shut up and stay out of his head.

"Welp, I am a genius," the pinkette crooned, eyeing him expectantly.

"Meredy… I-" He paused, unsure of what do say. "How did you even…?"

"The ring? Oh Jellal, you act so smart all of the time, but you never use anything to your own advantage. While you sat here for three weeks stressing by yourself, I made sure to find her the perfect birthday gift.

"I don't…"

"Erik went first. You know he has the ability to read minds, so he and I travelled to Magnolia and followed Erza around for a few days. At first we got nothing that could really be of use, but then Erza suddenly returned to the guild upset. You see, she had tried to order a sword or armour with the power to repel weapon attacks from Heart Kreuz because she had noticed that she kept being injured in battle against Mages who fought with swords and other melee weapons. However, the company told her it couldn't be done because the jewel that needed to be inset wasn't mined in Fiore, and wouldn't properly combine with any form of metal besides gold. Of course, even Erza doesn't have enough money for armour or weapons of pure gold, nor does she have the time to travel to the other side of the continent for a small gemstone.

"That was the first stage. Sawyer helped out next. With his Magic, he managed to get to Bellum and all the way back in just under a week and a half!"

So that's where Racer had been. They had told him the man was trying to visit his hometown to see if his family was still alive. You're kind of stupid Jellal…

"He could only get a small gem with the money Hoteye quickly pooled together, but Sorano and I thought it would make a nice ring. We had a gold band fashioned so that the warding properties would still work, and we designed the cut of the stone. Then it was just up to Macbeth to fashion a reasonable fake present for you to take with you for Erza." The woman was practically glowing by this stage.

"Meredy… You guys… I…" He was speechless. It never occurred to him that they would ever do something like this, let alone for him, the man they seemed to despise. Maybe they were starting to be like a real guild now th-

"Hey, no need to get all sappy on us," Erik drawled, rolling his eyes. "It was Meredy's idea. We just went along with it."

"Speak for yourself," Angel exclaimed. "I for one wouldn't mind some nice treatment as a thank you."

He couldn't help but chuckle. "Sure Sorano. You can have whatever you like." He paused as something occurred to him. "Wait a second though... Why didn't you guys just tell me and give me the ring in the first place? I almost had a heart attack when that cake disappeared. I thought Erza was going to slice me in two!"

"Oh Jellal," Meredy laughed, "You're so hopeless. We knew you'd panic way too much if you knew what the actual gift was. Cakes are so much more innocent, so we thought you could handle at least that."

He didn't know whether to be insulted, or if she was just a little bit correct.

"Besides, you need the practice. This ring is nothing compared to the next one you'll be giving her."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the next one will have a diamond, for starters… and you'll be on one knee. I'd start practising if I were you."

They all began laughing as he turned as red as his lover's hair, stuttering that they were all idiots and marching embarrassed from the camp as Hoteye jokingly started reciting proposal speeches.

Despite the heat flooding his face though, he couldn't help but imagine a scarlet beauty in a flowing white gown, walking down an aisle towards him with a diamond ring on her left hand.

Someday…


...because Jellal is a total dork :3

One prompt down - 6 to go. I've almost finished with "Passion" and "Happy", so expect them next(?) Oh, this fic is also rated M because one of the prompts (currently) is a smut chapter. Look forward to it ;D

Until next time, please drop a review and/or lemme know what you want to see in the other chapters. More funny Crime Sorciere? More Erza? More fluff? More adorkable Jellal? Something sad?

I bid thee farewell,

EvilTyrannicGoddess.