Jellal noticed that Erza had been acting weird around him ever since she returned from her investigation job two days ago. He felt her observing him intensely while he was not looking at her, but she averted her gaze the moment he turned his head to her direction. He had tried to ask her if there was anything she wanted to tell him, but she denied. There were also several times that she lost in her own thought so deep that she didn't hear him calling her.
And now, she was staring down at the bowl of potato soup in her hands served as their dinner but didn't take any sip of the content.
"Erza?" Jellal called out softly. When she didn't respond immediately, he tried again, raising his voice a little. "Erza?"
Erza finally raised her head to look at him. "What?"
Jellal eyed her with a slightly worried look. "You are not eating, Erza. Are you not feeling well?"
"No. I'm fine. It's simply that my mind has just wandered to somewhere else." Erza gave him a small embarrassed smile.
"Is there anything bothering you?" Jellal asked in concern.
"N-no! Nothing's bothering me!" Erza shook her head. "I was just daydreaming about some trivial things. Don't mind me."
Jellal didn't fully believe in what Erza said. But he also trusted her to know what she was doing. If she didn't want to talk about the things which occupied her mind, he wasn't going to press on her further.
"The soup's getting cold, you may want to finish it quickly."
Erza nodded and brought the bowl to her mouth.
After they finished their meal, Erza told Jellal that she had workout to do and excused herself. This was another unusual thing she did since her return. They usually spent some times on small talks after their dinner, while watching the campfire dying down.
Jellal turned his gaze to his other companion when Erza disappeared from sight.
"Meredy." The girl lifted her gaze from the Sorcerer Weekly she was reading and looked at Jellal, showing to him that she was listening. "Is it just my imagination or is Erza behaving differently around me from before she went on doing the investigation?"
"Ah! So you did notice." Meredy giggled. "It's good that you aren't as insensitive as I thought you were." Jellal rolled his eyes in response to Meredy's teasing. "I can sense that Erza's getting anxious around you these two days. There's something about you that's bothering her."
Meredy's magic dealt with human's feelings and emotions, which gave her a strong and reliable sense on people's emotions. Jellal knew he could trust in what Meredy said about Erza was true.
"But Erza wouldn't admit it." Jellal sighed. "What's about me that has suddenly made her feel anxious …" He murmured, more to himself than asking Meredy for her opinion. Ever since Erza joined Crime Sorciere on temporary basis by his invitation, neither of them had shown any sign of discomfort or embarrassment when they were around each other. Their interactions always felt natural to him, as if they had always been working and living together in the same guild, and had never been apart from each other for years.
"Actually I have a guess, Jellal. Will you like to hear?" Meredy asked, seeing that Jellal seemed to be unable to solve the mystery of woman's thoughts, even with his genius brain.
"What's your guess?"
"Do you know what's the day is the day after tomorrow?"
Jellal furrowed his bow in confusion, not expecting to hear such a question from Meredy. Nonetheless, he counted the dates in his head. The day after tomorrow…...it will be February 14. Then it clicked.
"It's Valentine's day."
"Bingo."
"You don't think that…...Erza's feeling anxious because Valentine's day is coming and she's expecting me…..."
"It's exactly what I think. Erza's emotion isn't exactly the kind of a negative one. It's the kind of anxiety people have when they are looking forward to something to happen but they can't be sure that it will. I think she's either planning to do something with you, or hoping for you to do something for her, on Valentine's day."
"But we aren't…"
"Jellal." Speaking with a serious tone, Meredy cut in before Jellal could finish his sentence. "Both of us know that you two are much more than simple friends. Actually anyone who have spent more than a few minutes with you two will have noticed."
Jellal's face turned red but he knew he couldn't deny what Meredy said. Yet he still couldn't be certain that Meredy's guess was right. "Erza understands our circumstances. And the Erza I know is not the kind of woman who will be bothered by what the world says about what should be done on Valentine's day." If Erza had cared about what the world thought, she would have never chosen to love and wait for him.
"But Erza is a woman, Jellal, and a woman who loves reading romantic novels no less as far as I know. I have never doubted that she knows the restraints you two have in your relationship, but it doesn't mean that she won't dream about something to happen between you two on Valentine's day. Especially now when she's living with you in the same guild. Do you really think that she doesn't care about Valentine's day the slightest, or have no expectations from you at all?"
Jellal looked at Meredy wide eyed, being surprised to hear her giving him lessons on how Erza's mind worked. He allowed some times for her words to sink in, before chuckling.
"What? What are you laughing at?" Meredy demanded, not being amused by Jellal's reactions.
"You've always like a little sister in my eyes, Meredy. But I guess you've really grown up into a woman, giving me lessons on how to understand another woman."
"Hey! I've told you since several years ago that I was no longer a little girl!" Meredy protested and her face dusted pink. "And I wasn't trying to give you any lesson. I'm sure that you understand Erza much better than I do. I was just…...trying to share my observations with you on something you might have missed because sometimes you are too focused on work, you know."
Also she wanted to support Jellal when he needed it and to see him being happy, because she did treat him like her big brother in return. She couldn't not give him some hints when he was confused by Erza's behavior, especially when she had not only sensed Erza's anxiety, but had a very good guess on the reason behind it. The night before, the redhead had asked her in their shared tent before they fell asleep, in her pretended casual manner, if Jellal liked eating chocolate and if she knew he had any work planned on February 14.
But Meredy wouldn't tell Jellal about Erza's questions. She didn't want to embarrass Erza and ruin any surprise she might have prepared for Jellal.
"I know you were only trying to help me, Meredy. And you are a great help to me." Jellal said sincerely. "And I believe you know that I'm not looking down on you when I said I see you as a little sister."
Meredy smiled softly. "I know. And I'm happy to help."
They then changed the topic of their conversation, talking about their other guildmates who had been doing investigations at different places, while waiting for Erza's return from her workout.
Erza had changed into a sportswear with her requip magic and jogged in the forest after leaving Jellal and Meredy. For half an hour, she was able to focus her mind on the pace of her run, the movement of her arms and legs and the rhythm of her breathing. But once she decided to head back to her guildmates, she started thinking again about Jellal and the valentine's chocolate she had bought him.
Erza hadn't planned to buy anything for Jellal for Valentine's day before she stopped by at Magnolia, on her way back to Crime Sorciere after finishing her investigation job. But when she went to her favorite cafe for her favorite strawberry cheesecake, she realized that Valentine's Day was approaching because the cafe was promoting their handmade valentine's chocolate. The thought of buying Jellal a box started to form in Erza's head in that moment. And by the time she left the cafe, she already had a star-shaped box filled with heart-shaped chocolates in her hands.
She had been slightly excited about giving the chocolate to Jellal on Valentine's day, and even started to dream a little about receiving something from Jellal in return, until she finally met him again and began to consider seriously how to give him the gift and what his reactions would be.
Jellal and she didn't really have time to spend with each other alone for her to give him the chocolate because Meredy was with them. And they were not lover. Would Jellal decline accepting her chocolate because he deemed that he didn't deserve it, or thought that she was trying to pressure him to advance things between them? What if he thought giving out chocolate on Valentine's day was totally unnecessary and immature for her to do while they were doing serious business on chasing down dark guilds? What if he didn't care about it at all thinking it was only something merchants promoted to earn money?
She could have chosen to throw the chocolate away or eat it herself, to avoid finding out if any of her assumption was true. But she couldn't either. She picked the chocolate for Jellal, from her heart with her love for him. She still wanted Jellal to receive it. Besides, she had confirmed with Meredy that Jellal did eat chocolate. So there were also chances that Jellal actually loved the chocolate and would accept it.
Once again having convinced herself that the idea of giving Jellal Valentine's chocolate wasn't that bad, Erza walked faster to go back to their camp site.
When she finally saw the familiar green tents, she also noticed that Jellal was waiting for her, like the night before. But Meredy was not with him this time.
"I'm back. Sorry for making you wait for me." Erza said apologetically. She had told him last night that he didn't need to wait for her. But apparently he could not go to rest without seeing her coming back safely.
"No, it's fine. I also have things to do anyway." Jellal had tried to come up with some good ideas on what he could give to or do for Erza on Valentine's day while waiting for her.
"Has Meredy gone to sleep?"
"Yes, I told her to go resting first."
They were alone now, Erza realized. Is now the good time to give Jellal the chocolate, even it isn't Valentine's day yet? She lightly bit her lips.
"Are you hungry, Jellal?"
Jellal gave her a puzzled look and Erza immediately regretted asking such a stupid question. "No, I'm not. We've just had dinner an hour ago. Are you feeling hungry now after your workout? I think we still have some potato left if you want something to eat."
"No, not really. I-um, I…" I can't do it now. I'm not prepared. Erza sighed deeply. "Just forget about it. Good night."
Erza turned her back to Jellal and went straight to her tent, not giving him a chance to ask her further questions. Before she ducked her head to go into the tent, she heard Jellal said, "Good night, Erza."
"I'm going to do my workout." Erza told Jellal and Meredy after dinner. She didn't tell Jellal to not wait for her. For one, he wouldn't listen. For two, she actually hoped that he would wait for her on his own like the night before, so that she could give him the chocolate.
It was Valentine's day. Erza didn't find any chance to give the chocolate to Jellal during daytime. They had been really busy since yesterday since Cobra and Racer sent back some information they had collected for them to do analysis and planning. She had to give out the gift tonight; although a part of her was still unsure if she was ready to do it.
"Wait, Erza." Jellal got up and took off his coat and began to remove his chest plate. "I'll join you."
"You wanna do workout together with me?" Erza asked in surprise, not sure if she had heard Jellal rightly. "But it will leave Meredy here alone…"
"Meredy may not be as powerful as you, but she's still a really strong mage."
"Ah, I didn't mean that Meredy's weak…" Erza said; her face turning pink in embarrassment.
"It's okay, Erza. I can handle myself and any enemy, there's no need to worry about me." Meredy added with a sweet smile. "And you two won't be far away anyway."
"Let's go." Jellal gave Erza a bright smile that made her heart skip a beat.
Erza requipped into her sportswear and led Jellal to her usual route for jogging. They were alone with each other now, and Erza couldn't help but start to think that might be, just might be, Jellal had something planned out for them for Valentine's day.
"Why do you suddenly want to join me for workout tonight?" Erza asked, turning her head to the side to look at Jellal.
Jellal glanced at Erza. Despite the darkness and the dim light of the stars and moon, her hair was still a vibrant scarlet.
"I think it's a good habit you have to do exercise after dinner to keep fit. So I think maybe I should follow your routine too."
"I see." Erza turned her face away from Jellal.
Jellal could hear the disappointment in Erza's answer. "Besides," He felt Erza's gaze was back on him again. "I have something to show you. Follow me."
He went to the path which would led up to a flat top of a mound. It took them around twenty minutes to reach the destination. From there, they could have a glimpse of the sea from the far south.
"You want to show me the sea?" Erza hadn't explored this place before. The view was nice, with the sea reflecting the starlight and moonlight from the sky. It reminded her of the lake view at Magnolia.
Jellal didn't answer her question but smiled, before taking a few steps ahead.
He raised his right arm, pointing two fingers to the sky, while keeping his left arm down with two fingers pointing at the ground. He then moved both arms in clockwise direction, drawing a golden magic circle with his fingertips. Golden aura enveloped his whole body as he drew both hands towards his chest and clasped them together, before he stretched out his arms straight.
"What are you doing…" Erza whispered in bewilderment as she watched Jellal cast his magic for unknown purpose.
"They are coming." Jellal told Erza but without turning back to look at her. "Look at the sky."
Erza raised her head, and then widened her eyes in awe and gasped. Several streaks of bright lights appeared in the sky, moving down towards the sea before they disappeared in the air. Then came new and some more streaks of lights, one after another making up around thirty in total, brightening up the dark sky.
Jellal had created a small scale of meteor shower for her, Erza realized. Her heart felt incredibly warm suddenly and her eyes felt wet.
When all the meteor burned out in the sky, Jellal finally turned to face Erza and stepped closer to her. She was looking at him, smiling widely while wiping off tears threatening to fall with her finger.
"Thank you, Jellal. It's beautiful."
Jellal's hand reached out for Erza, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Cupping her face with his palm, he stroked her cheek with his thumb.
"Happy Valentine's day, Erza." Leaning forward, he kissed her on the forehead. "Thanks for your support and love in all these years. I can't really go to shop a gift or buy flowers for you. But I hope this meteor shower I presented for you is enough to make you happy."
"Of course it does. It's from you." Erza couldn't stop her happy tears to fall anymore, and they fell on Jellal's hand. "Thank you for giving me the faith and strength to move on when I feel insecure and weak. Thank you for inviting me to join your guild when I had nowhere to go."
Her heart felt light; her previous uncertainties about giving Jellal Valentine's chocolate evaporated. She even felt being stupid before to worry about Jellal not liking to receive Valentine's gift from her. They weren't officially a couple, yet. They didn't need any gift on Valentine's day to prove that love existed between them. But Jellal would never look down on her when she wanted to express her feelings towards him because he loved her; just like she would always cherish his every effort to make her happy because she loved him too.
Erza held out her hands to Jellal with her palms facing up, and in a flash of light, the star-shaped box of chocolate she had stored in her requip space appeared in her hands.
"Happy Valentine's day, Jellal."
Jellal was only partly surprised to see that Erza had prepared a gift for him since Meredy had already suggested that she might have prepared something. Yet the knowledge didn't make him feel any less happy and grateful to receive the chocolate.
"Thank you." Grinning, he accepted the box from Erza with both hands. "May I open it now?"
"Yes you may."
So Jellal untied the ribbon and opened the box. Inside the box sat six pieces of heart-shaped chocolate. He picked one up and held it out to Erza.
"Open your mouth?"
With reddened face, Erza parted her lips to let Jellal feed her the sweet. She then took one from the box and fed it to Jellal too.
"You like it?"
"Yes. it tastes real good, and it's from you."
Of course. Of course she should have known that Jellal would answer her question with the same reply she had given him before. What mattered the most to them was never the gift itself; from whom they received it, was.
"Then you will finish them all." Erza giggled.
"Actually, I think I would share this with Meredy." To thank her for alerting him to prepare for Valentine's day for Erza. "Would you mind?"
"No." Erza shook her head and smiled understandably. "And shall we head back to our site now? It's getting late."
Jellal closed the chocolate box, holding it with one hand before taking Erza's hand in his other one. With a satisfied grin on his face, he said, "Let's go."