Erza's hands shook ever so slightly, her lip catching between her teeth in a gesture of panic that Jellal knew all too well. He was used to the sudden overwhelm of...emotions...that seemed to catch her in her its tide and drag her out to sea. Jellal could hear by the gasping of air and the shaking in her voice that she was drowning in them, sinking to the bottom of her shame and her regrets. When she looked at him, he caught a sparkle of tears floating in the glowing brown eyes that he'd loved since he was a little boy. "Erza..." he murmured, and pulled her against him, stroking her hair.
"I believe if I knew where I was going, I'd lose my way. I believe that the words that he told you are not your grave." Jellal tucked his cheek against the top of her head, and he could feel her shaking from sobs.
"I know that we are not the weight of all our memories," Erza agreed, coughing. "I believe in the things that I am afraid to say."
"Hold on, hold on," Jellal whispered, kissing her forehead and cheeks. Erza cracked a small smile. "I believe in the lost possibilities you can't see," he told her.
"And I believe that the darkness reminds us where light can be," she said softly, stroking his tattoo. Jellal closed his eyes, broken images flashing through his mind-being tortured, under Ultear's spell, hurting all those people...the brightest, lightest moments were always with Erza. She laid her head against his heart, listening to the gentle thumping. "I know that your heart is still beating, beating darling."
Jellal caught her chin and tilted her face up to look at him, smiling gently at the redheaded women wrapped in his arms. "I believe that you fell so you could land next to me." He pulled her tightly back against him, taking solace in her warmth. "Cause I have been where you are before; and I have felt the pain of losing who you are. And," he laughed bitterly, "I have died so many times, but I am still alive."
Erza peeked up at him from underneath scarlet bangs, frowning slightly. She shook her head, and past Jellal, laughing maniacally as the Tower crumbled around him, as he hurt all of her friends flashed into her mind-and then faded into the man before her, looking lost and miserable, and so completely in love with her it was almost palpable. Erza skimmed her nose along his jaw, feeling the taut muscles there from him having clenched his teeth.
"I believe that tomorrow is stronger than yesterday. And I believe that your head," she playfully bopped him on the head, and then ruffled his hair, "is the only thing in your way."
"I wish that you could see your scars are linked to beauty," Jellal whispered, running his fingers over the scars tracing up her bare arms and wrists. Erza flushed. "I believe that today it's okay to be not okay." His hands slid up her biceps, to her shoulders, and down her back, holding her firmly at the waist. They looked at each other in understanding, chocolate brown melting straight into tea green.
"Hold on, hold on..." they said together. Erza brushed her fingertips over Jellal's collarbone sweetly.
"Cause I have been where you are before; and I have felt the pain of losing who you are. And I have died so many times, but I am still alive..." she told him, her eyes fluttering closed as he bent to kiss the tears from her face. She caught his face in between her hands, looking straight into the face of the man whom she loved so much it was embedded in her skin, melted into her blood and pumping fast through her veins.
"This is not the end of me, this is the beginning," she said pointedly, softly, looking at Jellal.
"This is not the end of me, this is the beginning," Erza repeated. Jellal half-smiled.
"This is not the end of me, this is the beginning," he agreed.
"This is not the end of me, this is the beginning," they whispered in unison.
"Hold on..." Both of their heads jerked up, looking for the source of the voice who they could hear. Again, the two said, "This is not the end of me, this is the beginning."
"Hold on..." The voice called again, and Jellal's eyes were wide. He knew that voice, knew it so well. "This is not the end of me, this is the beginning," the pair repeated shakily.
"Hold on, I am still alive..." more voices joined the first, and from the fog on the ocean, figures came forth calmly. "This is not the end of me, this is the beginning." The first figure took shape in Ultear, smiling gently at the pair. She laid her hand over her own heart. "Hold on, I am still alive," she sang, louder than the other voices. Another figure began becoming clearer.
"This is not the end of me, this is the beginning," Erza sobbed, Jellal only mouthing the words as his heart contracted. Ultear...
"Hold on, I am still alive..." The second figure took shape in Simon, and Erza fell to her knees, Jellal falling with her. Tears coursed down her face, and she clutched at Jellal's jacket. Simon smiled and waved, before holding Ultear's hand and standing beside her.
"This is not the end of me, this is the beginning," Erza cried, smiling at Simon through hiccuping sobs. Jellal felt his dry eyes stir slightly, and he blinked rapidly before closing them.
"Hold on, I am still alive..." The third figure became Rob, and Erza howled in pain. Jellal felt something warm and wet slide down his cheek, followed by another, and another. Rob came the closest to the two, and his fingers seemed to float over their heads. Jellal reached for him, but his hand made no contact, like smoke. Rob chuckled and beamed at the young couple holding each other up on the sand, Erza seeing through a blur of tears and Jellal blinking his down his face.
"This is not the end of me, this is the beginning," he murmured, burying his face in Erza's hair. She sniffled and looked up at him, nodding.
"Hold on, I am still alive..." the trio of smoky figures whispered, Rob walking beside Simon to hold his hand. They were all smiling so brightly, looking so happy; as though the warmness in their smiles reached Erza and Jellal, they shakily got to their feet, holding each other. "This is not the end of me, this is the beginning," they said together, fingers linked.
"Hold on, I am still alive..." the figures were fading slowly, their voices fading with them. Silent tears trekked down Erza's cheeks, and Jellal wiped stubbornly at the ones clinging to his eyelashes. As the figures faded for good, their smiles the last to go, Jellal bent and kissed Erza's eyelids, nose, and then firmly on the lips, making her gasp and open her mouth. Their lips meshed together for a while, moving in slow, lazy sync before Jellal took an inhale of breath and leaned away.
"This is not the end of me," he told her, cupping Erza's cheek. She laid her hand over his.
"This is the beginning."