I've always liked the idea of Erza and Bacchus and there is a wonderful picture by 'Milady666' on DeviantArt that really inspired me to write a story about them, and a certain blue haired mage as well…

Flashbacks are in italics.

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

It had been a hard day at the Grand Magic Games, but the night was quiet. This was mostly due to the fact that the guild had decided it was a great evening for a drinking contest with one of the other guilds, Quattro Puppy, and everyone was either passed out at the bar or had stumbled back to their rooms, even the barman was out cold.

Elfman and Evergreen had been the first to leave, and no one had seen Mira and Laxus for a while either. Somehow, Levy had managed to carry a sleeping Lucy up the stairs, Gajeel and Natsu had passed out mid-brawl and Gray had fallen asleep on top of Juvia – if only she was conscious to see it.

Erza however, had not participated, well, she hadn't been allowed to, something about her getting violent when she was drunk….as if.

So, there she was, sitting at the bar by herself, sipping on her strawberry smoothie, enjoying the rare solitude, well, at least she thought she was alone.

Suddenly there were two hands at her waist and she stiffened instantly, she had still never quite got used to being touched, for so many years it had meant pain. She relaxed slightly when she realised that the owner of the hands clearly meant her no harm, was almost enjoying the warmth emanating from them.

She thought it must by Jellal, it had to be, at least she hoped, but then she smelt the strong smell of liquor, strangely erotic, and knew it couldn't be him, he never drunk when he was on a job like this.

Erza let out a low laugh, there really was only one man other than Ichiya (not that he could reach as high as her waist) and Jellal who would dare to touch her like this.

"Hello Bacchus." She said as she leant back into his touch. "I thought everyone was out cold?"

"Give me a bit more credit than these light weights would ya?" He protested, gesturing to the various mages strewn in various states of disarray around the bar, Cana, for once, looking to be the least drunk of them all.

"It's been a while since we've seen each other." She commented.

"It's been almost eight years for me Erza." Bacchus almost growled next to her ear, his breath sending a shiver up her spine.

"Mm, the last time we were together, you were barely done being a boy." She reminisced.

"Well, I'm most definitely a man now." He said as his grip tightened on her waist.

She laughed. "Now don't go turning into Elfman on me."

"I'd turn into him if you'd like it."

"Hm?"

"Oh come on Erza, you barely paid me any attention all night, you've gotta know that I missed you."

"Sure." She said blushing.

Bacchus turned the barstool around that she was sitting on and tilted her head up towards him. "Hey Erza." He said softly, his thumb lightly stroking her chin. "What's wrong? I sort of got the impression you were avoiding me..."

It hurt Erza to see him like this, a man who was so confident, so powerful, someone she cared so dearly about, and she hated that she might have caused him any amount of sorrow.

It had happened what felt like a year ago to her, but must be almost eight for Bacchus. Jellal had just been imprisoned after their fight taking down Nirvana and the Oracion Seis. Erza had been distraught, thinking that the man she loved, the first one to have ever loved her, was going to be locked away forever, never to be seen by her again.

She had been travelling home with the others, a long journey, and had stopped at an inn in a large town on the way back to Magnolia when it happened.

Erza couldn't sleep, her mind wouldn't stop racing, so she left the others sleeping softly in their beds and wandered out into the town. She came to a stop by the river, leaning on a wall along its banks and simply started at the flowing water for who knows how long, trying to forget, trying to wash away the constant aching pain in her chest.

She had seen someone approaching out of the corner of her eye, knew it wasn't one of her guild mates, but didn't feel threatened by the man.

"Hey." He greeted. "Titanita, I haven't seen you in a while."

She recognised the man at once, he was slightly younger than her, maybe twenty, was unmistakable with his long dark hair, the tattoo under his eye (a theme, it would appear).

Bacchus.

They had met several times, at get-togethers between their guilds, and she would be lying if she said she hadn't noticed him. He was a skilled mage, and she knew he would go far amongst his guilds ranks, and every now and again, he reminded her of Jellal, well, the old Jellal. The mischievous look in his eyes, the smiles that you couldn't help but join in with, and she found it hard to feel unhappy in his presence.

"Something on your mind?" He asked, instantly noticing that something was wrong.

"Nothing I wish to talk about." She responded, perhaps too harshly in retrospect.

"Alright." He replied, accepting her words with ease. "You don't have to talk about it, but you can at least come for a drink with me. It does no good to think on things that can't be fixed."

Erza wanted to protest, knew she could get him to leave her alone if she wanted, but something about the crooked smile on his lips and the life in his eyes made her say yes.

They walked side by side through the lamp lit streets, passing many bars and inns until they came to a quieter looking one near the edge of town, not too far from the place she was staying at.

"Whiskey." She said to the waiting barman, none of her friends were here to stop her from drinking now like they usually did after all. You send Natsu and Gray to the infirmary one time and they stop you from drinking forever…ridiculous, they had had it coming anyway, not that she remembered the reason why…

"I'll have three of the same." Added Bacchus.

Erza raised an eyebrow at him. "Three?"

"I handle my liquor well." He replied with a smug smile.

"Whatever you say." She said with a roll of her eyes. Erza knew alcohol didn't seem to affect Bacchus as much as it did most people, hell, he might even be able to give Cana a run for her money, but she still thought it a little brutish.

The barman put the drinks down in front of them and they moved over to a table in the corner, seeming to mutually decide it was the place to go.

They sat in silence for a while, the only sounds that of their glasses moving from the table to their lips. Erza felt oddly comfortable with this man, he was not so close to her that she felt she had to hide her pain, to put on the front of strength like she did with her team, her guild mates, but she felt close enough that she didn't have to hide it all.

"It happened to me once too." Said Bacchus, breaking the silence.

"What did?" Erza asked flatly.

"Something that made my eyes look just like yours do."

She tried to turn away, didn't want to talk about it, but his fingers lightly caught her chin, the touch making her freeze. Erza looked back into his eyes and she saw it, something which she had yet to notice behind his seemingly constant merry spirit – sadness.

"How did you make it go away?" She asked in a whisper, barely audible.

"Being so tolerant to alcohol doesn't just happen overnight." Was all he replied distantly, and she understood. The sadness might never go away, but you just have to fight your way past it however you can and move on. She just didn't know how she would ever begin to do that…

He put his arm around her and it made her feel just like her armour did, safe. She found herself leaning into him, resting her head against him, finding the feeling of having someone hold her so foreign, yet so comforting.

They sat like that for an hour, two, she lost track of time, and for the first time, she told someone everything there was to know about her and Jellal. Maybe it was the liquor, maybe it's because she felt so emotionally weak, or maybe it was because Bacchus was taking some of that pain away, but she felt so at ease talking to him. They stayed until the bar closed and by then she was feeling better, not happy, she didn't think she would feel that again for a while, but better, she even let a laugh escape when Bacchus made a joke.

"Come on, I'll walk you back." Bacchus offered. "I know the great Titania is more than capable of walking herself home." He added before she could protest. "But I'd like to spend a little more time with you before we head off in the morning."

"Sure." She said with a small smile, strangely sharing his sentiments. "It's not too far."

They began to walk back together and Erza wasn't entirely sure why she did it, but she took Bacchus' hand in her own, smiling to herself when he interlocked his fingers with hers.

It didn't take long for them to reach her inn, and the ache in her chest she had been feeling until she bumped into Bacchus suddenly began to return. Strange, she hadn't realised it had gone.

"Thank you." She said, making to remove her hand from his, but he tightened his hold.

"Wait, Erza, I…" He started, and if Erza wasn't mistaken, he had a slight blush to his cheeks." I, hope you feel better."

"I do, but I don't expect it will last for long…" She sighed, trying to smile.

"Well maybe I can keep the pain away for just a little longer." He said softly, his head slowly dipping towards her.

His lips stopped mere centimetres from her own, as if he were asking for her permission. Erza wasn't sure whether this was right, but she knew that as soon as she let go of his hand, if she turned away, then all the pain and sadness she was feeling earlier would just come flooding back.

So she closed the distance, pressing her lips lightly against his, the ache in her chest dissipating. Her lips started to move against his and her arms wrapped around his waist, just as his did hers.

That night they held each other, their bodies rocking together towards bliss as they became one, and it was a memory that Erza would cherish forever. It was not her first time, suffice to say that Jellal had said farewell to her in a very special way, but to her it would always be just as important. Bacchus would forever be the man who took away her sadness when she needed it the most, she doubted she would be who she was today without him.

She took the pain away from him, just as he took it from her, and for the rest of the year before the incident on Tenrou Island it had become their only solace. Bacchus drank less, Erza managed to fight and carry on with her life, and all because they made sure to see each other as often as they could, their love for each other keeping them going, each the others antidote.

"I'm sorry." She said, placing her hand in his. "I didn't mean to make it seem like I was avoiding you, it's just…"

Erza couldn't tell him, no one was supposed to know that Jellal was free, not to mention that his return into her life, their almost kiss on the beach, was causing her so much inner turmoil.

"It's just what Erza?" Bacchus asked softly, pulling her off the bar stool and into a hug.

At that very moment the door of the bar opened and Erza froze when she saw who it was.

"Mystogan?" Bacchus questioned, tightening his hold ever so slightly on Erza, clearly noticing her discomfort.

Jellal stopped in his tracks, losing his composure for just a second.

"Bacchus, Erza." He greeted, no less warmly than usual. "I'm surprised anyone is still up so late."

Erza wanted to let go of Bacchus, almost felt like she was betraying Jellal, but no matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't, was sure she would fall apart without his arms wrapped around her.

"I could say the same to you." Said Bacchus, sounding friendly, but there was something behind his voice that said otherwise.

"I couldn't sleep with all the raucous so decided to go for a stroll." Explained Jellal, his lie sounding so natural.

"Ah, well good for you that I managed to drink them all into sleep then isn't it." Bacchus said with a low chuckle, Erza feeling the vibrations in her chest.

"Yes, it should be easier for me to get some rest now." Thanked Jellal politely, making his way towards the stairs. "Goodnight Erza, Bacchus." He said, his voice wavering barely noticeably.

"Goodnight…Jellal." Said Bacchus, and both Erza and Jellal froze.

"You are mistaken." Corrected Jellal, composing himself quickly. "I merely-"

"Oh cut the crap. I haven't seen the look in Erza's eyes that I saw tonight in a very long time, but I never forgot, I remember the reason I saw such sadness in her eyes before, and I know why it's there now. You." Bacchus accused with venom. "What have you done to her now?"

"It's not what you think." Erza explained, placing her hand softly against Bacchus' cheek, causing him to visibly relax as he leant into her touch, Jellal however, seemed to flinch.

Erza knew that Jellal thought it was best for her if he stayed away, thought he couldn't hurt her anymore if he kept his distance, didn't let himself get close to her again. If only he had known it would make her hurt even more.

She didn't know what to say now though, her heart was practically being torn in two, both the men she loved were here and she couldn't see a way not to break one of theirs.

"Jellal thinks that by staying away from me he wouldn't cause me any more pain, he thinks that he doesn't deserve any love from me." Erza said as she looked deep into Bacchus' eyes and she knew he would understand exactly how she was feeling. He always had.

Bacchus sighed. "An idiot as always I see." He said, turning to Jellal. "You do realise you're hurting her more by staying away right?"

Jellal seemed to be lost for words. "But…I thought it was best and-"

"Oh come on Jellal, don't you know Erza better than that?" Bacchus interrupted. "You know, one day, your decision might be one you won't be able to go back on." He said as he placed a soft kiss against Erza's lips. "Like today."

Suddenly Bacchus was pushed backwards and now stood head to head with Jellal, Erza having to supress a sigh as the pair of men looked so like Natsu and Gray.

"What do you think you're doing?" Jellal questioned angrily.

"Giving Erza what she needs." Answered Bacchus with a smug smile.

"Would you two stop it?" Said Erza with a glare, the pair relaxing slightly but seeming no way near as affected by her commanding tone as most of her guild mates usually were.

"But Erza, he kissed you." Jellal protested, despite knowing about what happened between Erza and Bacchus in the past, had even said he was glad she had found comfort, he acted as if it were the first time it had happened.

"I wouldn't have if you'd already given her what she needed." Bacchus retorted.

"Look, I…" Erza started, not sure what she wanted to say, subconsciously biting her lip as she looked from one man to another.

"What do you want Erza?" Asked Bacchus, moving to her side and wrapping an arm around the back of her waist. "Because you know how I feel about you." He said softly.

Erza looked to Jellal, was surprised when he too came to stand on her other side, his arm wrapping around the front of her waist. Her heart rate picked up pace considerably, the two men she loved were holding her, their faces so close to her own, she just couldn't choose, could feel a tear falling from her eye.

"You know." Whispered Bacchus softly in her ear as Jellal wiped the tear from her cheek. "You could always choose us both."

Erza was shocked but her heart seemed to soar. Surely she couldn't, surely Jellal would never agree to it, but the idea made her feel happier than she had ever been.

"Yes." Confirmed Jellal. "Whatever makes you happier…if making you choose would cause you sadness, I couldn't possibly…"

Erza kissed him, kissed him like she had so longed to do since their encounter at the beach, and then she turned and kissed Bacchus too, the biggest smile on her face as she pulled away, their three foreheads resting against each other.

That time, for the very first time, Erza felt complete, and wondered if she ever would have had she not found the two of them.

Sometimes, in the future, Erza would wonder whether she would ever have been able to be with either of them separately if that fateful night had never happened. Jellal would probably have stayed away, unable to understand that it would hurt her so much more than he could ever hurt her being with her. And Bacchus, she could probably have been with Bacchus for a while, maybe even a long while, she loved his so much, but she knew that, just like the alcohol he used to numb his pain, the ache she felt for Jellal would never quite be gone.

She would never have long to think those thoughts however, because she'd suddenly find a pair of lips on either side of her neck, two pairs of hands caressing her, and her mind would wander to much more pressing matters…

There we have it, I just couldn't bring myself to separate Erza from Jellal or Bacchus so this seemed like the only solution. Hope you liked it!

As always, feedback would be greatly appreciated, especially as this is only my second go at writing for Fairy Tail.