Title: Keep Breathing
Summary: Beneath the armor, beneath the tough skin, there is a girl. Erza is more fragile than she lets on
Notes: MY OTPPPPPP. I have so many Erza/Jellal feels.
Erza doesn't cry much but when she does, it's always for him.
She doesn't really understand why because she thought she had cried all the tears away all those years ago but apparently not.
He doesn't deserve her tears.
He gets them anyway.
.
.
.
.
He hardly remembers her. He says her name, repeats it, but there is no real familiarity, only a distant fleeting memory that's a little blurry around the edges.
It hurts just a little.
When the Custody Enforcement Unit arrive to take him away, Erza wants to shout out that No, you can't do this. He's good now, see? He helped us. Just let him stay, let him stay with me he can't leave me again. Don't take him away from me.
She doesn't say any of that though, doesn't fight them off to keep Jellal with them even though her guild mates do.
She doesn't want to get the guild into anymore trouble than they're already in with the Magic Council. And besides, she thinks, he's turned himself in for a reason; he wants to start over. He's trying to be better. The least she can do is try to respect his decision. Erza clenches her hands, fingers biting into the skin of her palm.
She calls her friends off, apologizing so that they all won't get arrested and lets them take Jellal away, watching his back—like she's done before, always watching his back—when he turns around and stare at her with relief in his eyes and something else.
It was the color of your hair, he tells her and then just like that he's gone.
Later on Erza is alone and reminiscing.
She looks up at the mixed, orange and scarlet sky and shouts and screams and cries.
.
.
.
She isn't really sure how it happened but somehow they've rolled off the cliff and landed on top of each other. After tearfully explaining that she never thought she'd seem him again—he's kissing her.
His kiss is sadness and regret and loneliness and pain but there's love there, Erza's sure of it.
He pulls away.
I'm sorry I don't know why I did that I'm sorry, he stumbles over an apology and she isn't quite sure why he's apologizing—I have a fiancee.
He leaves (again) and maybe it's because she knows he's lying but Erza doesn't cry this time.
Maybe, this time, she's finally run out of tears.
End notes: Not sure how I feel about the ending :/
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