Waking up beside Erza wasn't a new experience for Jellal. Ever since she tagged along with Crime Sorciere, they had been sleeping side by side because they shared one tent at the request of Erza. But to see her face the first thing when he opened his eyes in the morning after making love to her at the night before, it was an experience totally fresh and surreal for him.

Erza was still in a deep slumber, unlike her usual self who would get up early for some training before they moved on to their next destination. Jellal cautiously swirled a lock of her hair around his fingers as he watched her sleeping face while trying to look for certain things in his heart. The guilt of taking her innocence. The regret of giving in to his desire. The shame of violating the rule he set down for himself. But he found none, slightly to his surprise.

Erza looked so peaceful, relaxed, and undisturbed by any dream in her sleep, that he simply couldn't help but smile. His mind drifted back to last night, to her sweet words, to her splendid body, to her pleasurable moans and to the look of contentment on her face when she reached her climax together with him.

He loved her, more than anything. And she loved him too, with so much dedication. She made him see that while he endured his self-imposed punishment in the form of rejecting her love, he was also depriving her of her happiness. But her happiness was all he wanted for her. He simply could not bring himself to regret for what they did last night. He had decided to love her with all he had and all the ways he could, to make her happy but also to make up for all the sufferings he had caused her.

And if they were being honest to themselves, their lovemaking was probably something they had both secretly desired for some time, and saw coming sooner or later since their reunion. The distance between them had become too small. The boundaries between what they thought they should do and what should not had become blurred, as they spent almost every second together from day to night. They tested on what they could do, in their small tent, starting from having their fingers brushed against each other. Then came hand holding. Hugs. Kisses. Caresses. They only needed so little encouragements last night, like a series of heated kisses and four restless hands roaming each other bodies, to take the final step into the forbidden land when they were finally truly alone without his members around, when he met her again at the inn to get information from her investigation on Avatar after almost a month of separation. They didn't ask if making love to each other was something right for them to do, but there was this silent and mutual agreement passed between their lips and gazes that said they knew the kind of path they had chosen and understood what were to come with their decision.

Jellal kissed Erza softly on her cheek. His heart felt warm and fulfilled, for a new answer had been found between them. He pried her hand on his shoulder away with utmost gentleness and got off the bed with minimum movement, bewaring not to wake her up. He needed to go back to Crime Sorciere but not without having a shower first. He wondered for a moment what his members would say about him staying the night with Erza. They had the tendency to give some not entirely friendly comments on his love life just to irritate him. But then he thought that he didn't really care about what they said.

The water running down from the showerhead above him was hot and refreshing as it washed him from head to toes. Jellal especially appreciated the way they hit on his shoulders and back, chasing away some of the muscles soreness. But the hotness also slightly intensified the tingle he felt on his skin at his back. The memories of Erza moaning his name with passion, of the pain she inflicted on him when her fingernails scratched him on his back and dug harshly into his flesh while he was driving into her, all came back to him. His hand reached between his legs, palming his length as he relived more details of last night in his mind with closed eyes.

Someone pushed open the door to the bathroom. Jellal's eyes snapped open and his hand released its hold on his length. He turned his head to look over his shoulder. Erza had come into the bathroom. She had wrapped herself in the bathrobe provided by the inn.

"Morning." Erza greeted him with a timid smile which Jellal found adorable.

"Morning." He smiled back at her.

"Would you mind if I join you in the shower?"

Jellal wondered if he could finish washing himself without trying anything else with Erza in the shower if she joined him. Not that it would cause any problem if he couldn't. Or might be except for a little bit more of delay for his return trip to the guild, if it could be counted as one. "No. Come here." He told her and turned to face the tiled wall once again, waiting for her to join him. It took some time for her to actually step into the shower, probably because she needed to take off the bathrobe. He then felt her fingertips on his back, drawing some unknown patterns.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know I was this…...aggressive last night. Did them hurt?"

Jellal now realized that Erza was tracing the marks she left on his back during their lovemaking. He shook his head.

"No. Not in a bad way anyway." He turned around to look at her, and took her hand to his mouth to kiss her fingertips. "I couldn't be happier that you had left those marks on my back. They are proof to me that everything happened last night was not merely a dream."

The blush that formed on Erza's cheek in an instant made Jellal chuckle. He wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her in for a kiss. His length brushed against her opening and she sighed into his mouth. Her hand dropped to his length, squeezing him lightly and making him stroke her between her legs. He fondled her breast in response.

When their breath turned uneven and shallow, Jellal whirled around so that Erza's back was facing the wall, and found the faucet behind her to turn off the showerhead. "Hold me tight." He told her when he lifted her up by grabbing her firmly at the back of her thighs. She locked her arms around his neck and wrapped her legs above his hips. Pinning her against the wall, he slid through her slick folds smoothly and buried himself into her with one push. He tried to hit her with different angles, wanting to find out all her sensitive spots. And she was responsive, giving him acknowledgment with "yes" and moans when he pleasured her in ways she enjoyed. When she came, it was hard that make he immediately follow.

Jellal was careful to not drop Erza when he helped her stand on her feet again. It was in this moment that he noticed there were several light purple bruises on both of Erza's thighs - all looked slightly bigger than the size of fingertip. It didn't take longer than a few seconds for him to realize that he was the one who caused those bruises. His grip on her thighs was strong to steady her when he spread her legs wide to thrust deeper into her last night. And he would now expect more bruises to appear on her thighs after their shower sex, since he had certainly pressed his fingers hard into her thighs to hold her up against the slippery tiled wall.

"I was too rough on you." Jellal caressed her bruised skin, feeling slightly guilty. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Erza simply kissed his lips and smiled. "I think we are even now."