AUTHOR'S NOTE:

This was a really late Christmas present for my friend Ali (hera-96 on tumblr, go follow her!) that was very late, but she loved it anyway so all is well.

This was my first time writing Zervis, so I deeply and sincerely apologize if they are a little OOC.

This is a Modern AU based in a world where Zeref is not out to destroy anything and is actually just a stoic cinnamon roll into unusual things.

Not much else to say. Enjoy this mind turd!

The Cutest Punishment

"I'm here!"

Zeref's head lifted at the sound of the cheerful voice and the small footsteps coming from the porch of his apartment. He closed the old book he was reading, placing it on the near by coffee table as he stood to his feet. Making his way to the door, he took a brief look in the mirror in the hallway to make sure he looked even a little presentable.

But he knew she didn't care.

A small woman with long hair as light as vanilla came around the corner with the widest of smiles on her pretty pink lips. He swore he could see legitimate sparkles surrounding her soft, innocent face.

He stopped in front if her, looking down at her as she dropped her purple carry-on bag to the floor against the wall with a dull thump.

The dark haired man staggered a little as her small hands grabbed his wrist with a surprisingly strong grip and pulled him forward.

"It feels like it's been forever Zeref!" She beamed.

"Hello Mavis." He responded almost emotionless, face virtually inexpressive beside the widening of his eyes when she dragged him forward. "How was your trip?"

Though he would never really admit it out loud, Zeref believed he had the cutest girlfriend to ever exist. So cute, he couldn't even admit it to himself most of the time. She was almost the polar opposite of him, with the purest and kindest heart. Her personality was seemingly too big to be able to fit in her tiny body. She shared her light and gave it to the people she met all over in her journey's. She was smart, strategic, working along side strength to solve the world's toughest conflicts. While his heart usually felt like a cold stone sitting in his chest he soon figured out that she was the one brilliant beam of sunlight that poked through the barriers to warm the surface.

Mavis was really, really special. And he knew that in his own weird way.

She had big, deep, forest green eyes that were now staring him down, even though compared to her, he was up.

It wasn't an unusual thing.

"That's it?" Mavis questioned. She released his wrists to cross her arms over her tiny chest. Her eyebrows raised. "Your girlfriend has been gone for three weeks, and when she finally comes back, not even a smile? Or a hug? Or a hello kiss?"

Zeref hesitated for a second. Even as his girlfriend, she never usually nagged him about that sort of thing, even with how often she went on trips to other cities for work. There was something about her tone of voice in that moment that made something uncomfortably stir within him.

He had kissed her before yes, many times. He hugged her once in a while, even cuddled her on very rare occasions where he was so totally relaxed and open. He just wasn't usually one for displays of affection, no matter how much he loved Mavis.

"You want a kiss?" He tilted his head innocently, before grabbing her shoulders an pulling her tiny frame back to his. "Okay."

Mavis didn't get the chance to say another word to her boyfriend when his mouth descended on hers in a quick, chaste kiss that left a mere tingle on the tips of her lips.

It was a kiss, but it wasn't enough for her. It didn't have the spark, the heat, the unadulterated love and adoration she longed for in his kiss. Soft and quick was all she received from him when it came to kisses.

But she supposed she didn't really mind. She liked them despite wanting something more, and she understood completely that that was just his way. She was aware if his feelings anyway, even if he wasn't the most talented at expressing it through their little lip locks. She just hoped that further into their relationship, though it might take a while, he would open up to her a little more.

But once again, she didn't feel a need to complain. So when he pulled away and her chest ached for a split second, she gave him a sugar sweet smile that, unknown to her, made a tiny spark flicker in his chest.

"I missed you." She told him sweetly. His only response was an awkward nod.

"You can go get a shower, if you want. I just cleaned the bathroom for your arrival." He said allusively, watching as she bent down to pick up her bag again, with her hair falling into her eyes.

He had this sudden and new and very weird temptation to reach down and brush it away.

"Okay, thank you." She said with a vague smile.

She was irritated again. He could tell.

His dark, inky eyes never left her as she wandered down the small hallway, down towards the bathroom that was just as much hers as it was his, with all the stuff she left in there.

Zeref couldn't help but wonder why exactly she needed so many products. But then again, he had used more than the usual for himself.

He heard her before he seen her. It was almost as if his ears wanted to.

The sound of her small, bare feet on the hardwood somehow over powered the sound of the sizzling food in the pan in front of him. He thought it was odd. She was a soft and quiet walker.

Mavis came around the corner with her hair already down out of its towel, with her bag left behind and her body engulfed by his favourite "The End is Near" t-shirt.

It didn't suit her, that shirt. Neither did the rest of his clothes whether they were for special occasions or just casual. Dark things, black things, didn't suit her. She was too bright and joyful to where t shirts with shady and somber sayings, with super villains quotes and faces, or with nothing at all. Basically any fabric that was darker than grey didn't belong on her body. She was too animated, a lover of life, that nothing or the sorts belonged on there. It didn't suit her at all.

But it all belonged on him, and seeing her in such a shirt with her knees almost covered made him uncomfortable.

Stretching her arms above her head, Mavis released a happy sigh. "Ah, that was so nice!" She announced exuberantly.

So she wasn't irritated any more. Good, he liked her better happy.

Making her way over to her (almost always) impassive boyfriend, the young woman felt her stomach rumble at the smell of food.

"What are you making?"

He didn't answer her question as he glanced at her. "Why are you wearing my shirt?"

"Because."

"It doesn't suit you."

"I know."

"And it's too big for you."

Mavis huffed. Her arms crossed over her chest as she stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. "This is something couples just do you know! Share clothes and stuff."

Was she mad again? What did he do this time?

Zeref was looking at her full on now, the food almost forgotten as it cooked in the old pan. She seemed to notice his confusion, and immediately relaxed.

"Besides…" She flushed pink. "I like wearing your shirts. They're big and comfy, and very warm actually…" Her feet scuffled on the floor, like she was nervous about something.

He would accept that answer, he supposed. "Okay." Came his reply, and therefore the end of the conversation.

A rather comfortable silence fell between them as Mavis stared at him. Still no smile? No laugh? Did his beautiful face ever change?

She found herself suddenly so desperate to see him at least grin a little bit, so she decided then and there it would be her life goal (Or as long as they were together anyway).

"Hey." She lifted herself up onto the counter top.

She smelled like cherry blossoms. It was a comforting scent, because he always thought about her when it hit his nose.

"Knock knock." Mavis grinned, her feet swinging a little as she perched on the counter. Her heels knocked annoyingly against the wood of the cupboards bellow.

Zeref glanced at her again. "What are you saying? People don't say knock knock, they just knock."

She huffed, crossing her arms again. "Just say whose there. You know how knock knock jokes work right?"

As he wandered over to the fridge to grab something, he did as he was told. "Okay. Whose there?"

"Dwayne."

"Dwayne who?"

"Dwayne the bathtub, it's over flowing!"

She was giggling at the ridiculous joke. She personally thought it was hilarious. But there wasn't a single sound from him. Observing his face she couldn't detect any sort of amusement. Not even the corners of his mouth twitched.

"That's cute I guess. But a name is not a verb, so that doesn't make sense."

Her heart fell. She had an archive of jokes up her sleeve she couldn't bring out now. It was obvious now that jokes would not work on him. They wouldn't make him smile, let alone laugh or chuckle. So what was the point? To entertain herself only to have him speak up and tell her how it doesn't make sense or why it isn't funny? It wasn't worth it.

"Okay so you don't like jokes…" She rested her heads back against the cupboard.

What else was she supposed to do?

It was a solid two hours later and Mavis was still hung up on making her boyfriend smile.

She had hesitantly tried a few more jokes, dark jokes and dirty jokes and absolutely ridiculous jokes, but there was still nothing from him. He would try to correct her diction or prove to her why the joke shouldn't make sense.

She was getting more and more sad.

They sat on the couch, slouching side by side as the movie "The Book of Eli" played on the TV in front of them.

They were silent, doing nothing but digesting their meal and watching with an absent mind. Well, at least she was. He seemed pretty enthralled with the film he had seen multiple times.

Her eyes scanned his living room, which hadn't changed much. It was relatively plain, with simple white walls and just a single framed picture that was cracked and broken and crooked. The couch was worn black leather, and the odd rocking chair by the window was faded, stained brown and creaky. The television was placed merely on another old stand surrounded by a mess of wires. The coffee table was a clutter, papers and pens and dirty coffee mugs and round, brown stains. Surrounded by Stephen King novels, was his lap top.

"So… How is your writing going?" She asked and turned to the side to face him. Her knees curled in under her and her hands toyed with the hem of his shirt she wore.

At the sound of her voice Zeref removed his gaze from the screen to her.

"It's going very slowly." He answered. "I've got the biggest case of writers block, and referring to novels of the same genre is not helping anymore." He picked up an old novel and briefly flicked through the pages. "Currently it's a struggle on how to and who to kill… The story needs to develop from it."

"Maybe you should write about something different." Came her suggestion with a hint of irritation. "If everything you write is similar all the time you're going to get bored and lose your inspiration."

He almost looked offended. Almost.

"How could I? There is nothing else for me to write about. This is the stuff I enjoy." He stated, throwing the novel back down onto the coffee table.

She snapped. A little.

"Why don't you just try?" Her head was up and she was poised. "Why can't you at least try to write about something happier and more cheerful? Seriously, I should be enough inspiration right? All of your clothes are dark and have some sort of… Dark or morbid stuff on them! All your favourite movies are about demons or horror or post-apocalyptic! Puppies are nice, colour is nice, why don't you put some of that into your life?" She asked him, her eyebrows furrowed. "That kind of stuff is happy and nice… You seem so sad all the time. This stuff isn't very nice!"

Their eyes met and she immediately regretted snapping at him. There was a twinkle of hurt in his dark eyes as he stared in disbelief.

In his chest, her heart was weirdly tight. It was like his own girlfriend called him… Ugly or something. Maybe she had a point..?

Sure he had many other people say such things to him. He couldn't deny that he had some weird interests and was awfully passionate about the dark things he wrote and wore. But hearing it from her was something else completely. Hearing it from her, when she had never said a thing about it before, was definitely different.

And he didn't like it.

"Oh my god…" Mavis' eyes went wide as saucers and she started waving her hands frantically. "I'm sorry I didn't mean-"

"Then why are you with me?"

If the movie still wasn't playing in the background, it would have been quiet enough to hear a pin drop. It wasn't of course, one of those comfortable silences either. It was pregnant with tension and a wave of some other emotion that couldn't be described.

Mavis felt bad about her own words. It wasn't like her to say such things, or snap at anyone she held dear to her. She surprised herself and wished she could have at least said it in a more gentle way or even not at all. Maybe the jet lag was getting to her?

She realized that she should say something, instead of stare and gape for almost a full minute like she had been.

If she looked closely enough, she could see the bit of fear and hurt in his eyes. She could see how his back was a little more stiff, his hands more clenched as he waited for an answer.

So he was anxious for her reply. Her own heart warmed a little at that. It meant he cared, it meant he didn't want her to say something horrible. It meant he didn't want her to leave him.

Her lips pulled into a pleasant smile and her forest green eyes softened. Her tiny hand reached over to clutch his fist.

"Because I love you. Despite all of that stuff." She resolved, squeezing his hand. "Yes you're a bit weird but I like weird. You're very smart even though nobody seems to notice because you're so quiet. Even though you aren't one for affection I love it when you're in good moods and you do give me affection. It's all I need and it's even more special." She went on. "You're accepting of me even with all of our differences. You may have had a dark past but right now, in this moment, you are kind and caring even if you hide it behind your walls."

She squeezed his hand again. "What I'm saying is, even though you are not the kind of person I was expecting to end up with, I'm still in love with you. No matter what, and I'm sorry for what I said."

The air lightened as soon as she finished her dramatic, romantic spiel that would have made almost anyone swoon even a little bit.

While his heart did weird things that they had never done before, Zeref's only reaction once again was a knowing nod of acceptance. "That's the nicest thing I think anyone has said to me… In a while."

But he didn't smile. Again.

Mavis was getting really desperate. She wasn't even trying that time. Was he really unable to smile or laugh? That couldn't be true. She'd heard him chuckle and and saw him grin before, but never genuinely smile. It was quite upsetting, being his girlfriend and all.

So, with a wave of confidence Mavis found herself crawling over him and plopping right down on his lap. Her ridiculously long hair tickled his face in the process as she turned to look at him with a glare.

His eyes were wide in surprise at her boldness, his heart crawling up into his throat at their new position. What was wrong now? Did he do something again? Did she change her mind in just that one minute about loving him?

"Why don't you smile?"

Well he wasn't expecting that. Not at all.

"W-What are you talking about Mavis?" He asked. He surprised even himself with the unusual stutter.

"I never see you smile!" She hollered. "No matter what I do I can't make you smile. Jokes don't work because you always find a way to make them not funny, and my romantic spiel which I personally think was very smile worthy didn't make your mouth twitch, and even when I arrived after we've been a part for weeks…" She looked down then, going from passionate to just plain discouraged. "Again, not even a smile. It's like you weren't happy to see me at all."

Chewing on the inside of his cheek, Zeref knew he had to give her some sort of explanation, even if it meant telling a little fib here and there just to avoid her hurting so much. She looked like she was about to burst, whether in tears or rage. Which wasn't right.

With a sigh, and a little blood on the inside of his cheek from his nervous gnawing, he looked her straight in the eyes.

"I have tried to make myself smile many times actually. You're not surprisingly the first person to point out my lack of… Expression. I've tried just forcing a smile without a reason to, and I've been told I look creepy and ridiculous. That's why I don't even try it."

"Who told you that?"

"Natsu did."

"Well then." Mavis began to grin, the gears in her head moving faster and faster as she slowly grabbed hold of the collar of his shirt. "For not trying to smile AND listening to Natsu…"

Zeref never felt true, genuine concern for himself until now.

"I'm going to have to punish you!"

Before he could do anything she was on him. Her lips were all over him; his nose, his forehead, his cheeks, his chin, his neck and his shoulders and lips and every where she could reach as she peppered quick and innocent kisses all over his skin. There was something overly passionate about every little movement she made, making it all the more… Crazy.

He was really overwhelmed, with her scent of cherry blossoms and her snuggling him tighter. She patted his hair, rocking them side to side as she continued to smother him in a tsunami of adoration. She was cooing ridiculous pet names and other sweet things to him in a high pitched, over enthusiastic voice.

"I love you I love you I loooove you!" She squealed dramatically. "I love you soooooo much! You're so cute! I love you you cute little writer you! Sooooo much! As much as twenty school buses!"

Every time she kissed him she made an over exaggerated "Mwa!" or a ridiculously loud 'smooch' sound.

It was like her affection gears were kicked into over drive as she squeezed his body to the point where he felt like she could break his ribs. It was like an angry baby rabbit was attacking him. It was like she had gone completely insane and decided it was a good idea to give him a crap load of something he wasn't fond of all at once.

It was like she thought he hated it.

By the time she was finished and she was crawling off of him with a proud grin, he had slid down farther, his head slowly being squished between the cushions of the back rest.

"There." She beamed with pride. "Punishment over. I hope you learned your lesson." And with that she said no more, grabbing the nearest blanket and wrapping it around herself.

Zeref was speechless, his heart in his throat as he moved to his feet. He could still feel his skin tingling where ever her lips had been, which was basically everywhere above his shoulders.

Clearing his throat, the stunned man looked to his girlfriend, who appeared as if nothing happened at all. "Well uh… Glad that's over. I'm going to go clean the kitchen." He told her in monotone, and skittered away with the weirdest feelings all over his body.

As he turned on the tap and started washing his plain, simple dishes, he couldn't help but let himself chuckle. She didn't seem to realize she didn't have to try so hard to make him smile and laugh. In fact, it was when she wasn't trying he felt the need to smile the most. It was when she was being herself, affectionate and enthusiastic and adorable that he couldn't be happier. But he never had the nerve to tell her that.

She was his colour. She was his sunshine and puppies and every bit of happiness he could ever need. He loved her endlessly, and that was the only thing he could ever be 100% sure of. She was all he ever needed. He supposed that one day she would figure it out on her own.

Five minutes later, Mavis peeled herself from her comfortable position on the couch with the blanket in tow and headed towards the kitchen. She peeked her head around the corner, and what she saw made her knees weak.

There on his face as he cleaned, was the biggest, brightest and most sparkling smile she had ever seen.

She could die happy.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

So yeah. I think its crap but I mean a few people on tumblr enjoyed it.

I have a lot of work to do.

~fairytailheart