A/N: This is something I have wanted to write a year ago when the omake came out but gave up trying, but decided that I still want to put it down in words a few weeks ago knowing the OVA version will be released soon. I don't think I have done any justice to the Jerza moments in the omake with this one but it did feel good to finally get the ideas out of my mind.
Standing in front of the wooden door with Fairy Tail's emblem carved on it, Jellal sighed, blowing out warm breath which instantly turned into white smoke in the cold air.
He had rang the bell several times and been waiting for someone to come to open the door, or at least to answer through the speaker, for over ten minutes already. But silence was all he received. Apparently, all the residents of the dormitory were out, including the person he was hoping to see.
He felt a tint of disappointment settling in his heart; although rationally he knew there was really no reason for him to expect Erza to wait for him at Fairy Hills. He wasn't supposed to show up in Magnolia on Christmas eve. He had told her regrettably a few days ago that he didn't think he could finish his job at Bosco soon enough to return to Fiore during Christmas, when she asked if he would like to celebrate the festival with her this year.
But by some miracles which rarely happened to him, the dark guild master was being arrested before he could finish setting up the trap. So he got into the first train available to go back to Fiore after having accepted the agreed reward generously paid by the magic council's Bosco branch, hoping to spend his first Christmas eve after he was set free with Erza even it was only for an hour or two.
Between Fairy Hills and Fairy Tail guild, he had decided to go to the former one first to try his luck after getting off the train. He didn't want to get too much attention if he could and showing up at Fairy Tail guild looking for Erza would mean everyone in Magnolia would know of his arrival. Now he had no choice though. If Erza wasn't celebrating the festival with her co-habitants at Fairy Hills, it was most likely that she was partying at the guild.
Turning around, Jellal walked down the hill road that had already been covered with a thin layer of snow and headed to the direction of the guild. He skipped the commercial area of the town which he expected would be boisterous and packed with people who came out to celebrate the festival, picking the longer route that passed through the much quieter residential area instead. Casually placing himself in a crowd of people without any cover up was still something he was getting used to.
The snow continued to fall, piling up on the street as Jellal walked alone in the street. The wool sweater and the overcoat he wore was enough to keep his body warm from the cold weather, but he regretted not putting on something with a hook as he felt the snow falling on his head and melting into water droplets. Suddenly he missed his old Crime Sorciere cloak. Weather like this had been preferred when he was still a fugitive, for the heavy outfit meant for covering up his identity didn't make him sweat like how it would in summer and didn't feel too out of place when it was cold and snowing. But he also remembered days when it was extremely harsh to live in the cold season. There was never enough clothes and food to keep him warm in the winter when he was a slave in the tower. At night, the slaves would sleep together and as close to each other as possible to try to keep themselves a little bit warmer. And the memory of Erza's face flushed red when he gathered her in his arms for the first time when he noticed her trembling alone under the ragged sheet was still crystal clear in his mind.
Jellal knew he certainly should feel grateful that nowadays neither Erza nor himself needed to stick to another human body to feel a little bit warmer due to the severe lack of clothes and food, that the both of them could have all the necessities they needed to keep themselves warm in the winter. Yet, he couldn't help but wonder how it would like to sleep with Erza in his arms in the present time. What would she wear for sleep? How would she smell? Would she still blush when he pulled her close? Where would he place his hands? Around her waist, on her back or in her hair? Would her legs tangle with his? Where would he kiss her goodnight? Her forehead, her nose or her lips? Would she still curl into him and rest her head against his chest as she fell in sleep like he was the safest place for her in the whole world?
His train of unanswered questions came to a halt when a pair of bare feet came into his sight from several feet away, capturing his attention.
He stopped walking as he lifted up his curious gaze to have a proper look at the person to whom the bare feet belonged. To his utter surprise, he found a naked woman standing in front of him. Not only that, he was confused when realized that she had a head of familiar looking scarlet hair.
"...it's rather nippy…...that's right, I'm not wearing clothes."
Jellal thought his heart had stopped beating when she turned around and looked at him right in his eyes.
She was beautiful. Her eyes were the warmest chocolate brown. Her cheeks were tainted rose pink while her parted lips were painted burgundy red. Her scarlet hair cascading down on her back and her ivory skin contrasted with but also complemented each other. And she looked more lovely than usual wearing a christmas hat.
But why would the real Erza stand in the snow in her birthday suit on Christmas eve? He must have been missing her too much and had started hallucinating. And had his perverted mind gone out of control? Granted, he had dreamed about them kissing and cuddling and even doing something much less innocent. But why would he want to see her wearing nothing wandering in the street?
"Ah...no...this is...it's not what you think...really…..."
She...was real? Still trying to make sense of what he saw, all Jellal could do was to stare at Erza as she lowered herself with lighting speed into a squatting pose on the snow covered ground, and curled up to hide her assets and face from him behind her knees and arms.
"D-don't look!"
And as he was in awe at how smooth and pink her skin looked, he hadn't missed that she was shivering, due to coldness and might be also embarrassment.
She was real. Jellal felt his heart had not only started beating again, but was pounding against his chest as the realization hit him. A completely bare Erza appearing in front of him in the street on a snowing Christmas eve was real. His face felt unusually warm in the cold air all of a sudden. And there was no way he would let Erza to remain naked and cold on the street.
Jellal quickly took off his coat and approached Erza as he tried to figure out what had brought Erza into her current circumstances. He was only able to come up with one reasonable conclusion.
"Looks like you partied a little too hard with your friends, huh?"
He asked softly as he stood behind Erza and gently placed his coat over her back.
"I'm ashamed…..." She whispered, grabbing the clothes and pulling it tight against herself.
Jella also squatted down besides Erza.
"Have you been drinking?"
"Uuh...it...seems that way." Jellal hadn't missed that Erza was still avoiding at looking at him as she answered. "Everyone was getting all flirty with one another and I felt left out...guess I got kind of jealous...that's all I can remember."
He couldn't help but chuckled in amusement.
"My, my."
He hadn't expected her to tell him so honestly about how she felt being the sore thumb sticking out in her group of friends for being the only one who didn't have a partner in the party. She was a prideful knight who always preferred to act strong, independent and mature. So she didn't really like to admit loudly, even to him, when she was affected by negative emotions and acting silly. But he loved her all the same even when she was acting childish and irrational, and was thankful that she was willing to speak her heart this time
And when Erza finally turned to look at him, Jellal's smile went even wider. She was pouting in the most adorable way he had seen. She was probably protesting in her heart against him for not showing any remorse for being the primary cause of her jealousy over other couples, because of his absence in the party. But Jellal knew she was not angry at him for real. And he wasn't exactly not feeling guilty.
"I'll escort you home." He stood up and held out his hand to Erza. "Come on…"
"No…that's…" She took his hand for him to pull her up from the ground.
He watched and waited as she slipped her arms into the sleeves of his coat before buttoning up the front. When she was done, he came to her side and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, ignoring her previous rejection.
"You must be freezing. Come closer."
She glanced up at him with mixed emotions playing on her face, like she didn't want to give in too easily but found his invitation sounding too attractive to decline, that she wasn't sure if she should listen to him.
But when he tightened his hold around her to pull her closer, she leaned into him and pressed her body against his.
"Mmm. It's...pretty warm…"
Jellal only chuckled in response.
"So…...you came back early." Erza spoke up again as they started walking back to Fairy Hills. "What happened?"
"The dark guild master had been caught, but not by me."
"As long as the threat is gone it's good no matter who did it. But did you get your reward?"
"I did. They were pretty generous and paid me the amount agreed before."
"Good. You were lucky."
'I was in this one." Jellal looked at Erza and smiled, and his heart jumped under her longing gaze.
"I'm happy to see you tonight, Jellal." Erza smiled timidly, before turning her head to look at the road ahead instead, hiding her profile behind her hair.
"I'm happy that I'm able to meet you tonight too, Erza." He told her in return, feeling warmth spreading in his chest.
Following Erza's gaze, Jellal refocused on the road too. Despite not wearing his coat, he found that the coldness wasn't too unbearable since there was no wind. And having Erza in his arm helped him to stay warm too.
The snow piled up on the ground was now thicker than when he left Fairy Hills that with each step he took, he felt his boots sinking a little into the snow. His gaze landed on the ground, and Erza's feet caught his attention. The skin of her feet had turned all red as she walked in the snow without shoes. He internally reprimanded himself for being not attentive enough to realize earlier that she bare feet were hurting in the snow.
He stopped walking and pulled away from Erza, which made Erza raise a questioning brow at him.
"Let me give you a piggyback ride."
"Why...why so sudden…" Erza stammered and her face seemed to get redder.
"I can't allow your feet to be frostbitten in the snow."
"I can stand the cold. And I don't want to be your burden."
He turned around facing her with his back and kneeled down.
"Come." He glanced back at her and flashed her an assuring smile. "You are not a burden. Carrying you on my back helps keeping me warm too."
"This is…...cheating. If you put it this way how I can say no." Erza murmured in slight protest, but bent forward and leaned on Jellal's back anyway, wrapping her arms securely around his neck. "Thanks."
Jellal pulled his arms underneath Erza's back knees and locked his fingers together, before raising her up as he straightened his legs.
"Will I be…...too heavy?" Erza asked in a small voice. Her warm breath tickled his ear making Jellal shivered.
"You are not heavy. Don't worry." Jellal chuckled. Her weight would be something he wouldn't mind carrying for a lifetime. "This brings back some old memories."
What had happened in the tower was something Jellal didn't want to remember but would never forget. He knew the same applied to Erza too. And despite all the tragedies happened within that damned building, there were also memories that born from that place which they would always treasure.
"It does." Erza rested her head on Jellal's shoulder comfortably. "No one had ever given me piggyback ride back then before you did."
"And I lost the balance and almost dropped you when I tried to do it for the first time because I had never given another person piggyback ride before you too."
"We both tried to take the blame and kept saying sorry to each other."
"You didn't want me to try to carry you again. But when I reasoned with you that you simply couldn't walk up the long stairs to our cell with your broken ankle, you gave in."
"You can always find ways to make me listen to you." Erza whispered and her eyes fell closed.
Jellal still remembered the times when he thought that he could manipulate Erza all he wanted because he knew exactly how to waver her will. But he had vowed to never treat her wrongly again.
"You can trust me to do so when you are not thinking straight."
Erza didn't reply, and soon Jellal heard the soft sound of her snoring. She was heavier now, putting all her body weight on him as her body relaxed while she was napping. Jellal had nothing to complain about Erza making it harder for him to walk in the snow while carrying her. He only felt thankful for being able to give her a comfortable piggyback ride when she needed one in her drunken and naked state.
The walk to go back to Fairy Hills took a bit longer than the previous one Jellal took from Fairy Hills to go to the downtown. He found himself actually sweating a little when he finally arrived at the dormitory.
He woke Erza up and when she did, carefully put her down and asked for the key to open the front door.
Erza looked at Jellal with a blank expression, before she exclaimed, "Oh."
"You don't have the key."
"It's with my clothes at Lucy's home."
It was not worth the time to go back to get the key, Jellal decided. He grabbed at the door handle. "Is the lock or the door magic protected?"
"Yes. Breaking the lock, rune will be activated to trap the intruder."
It made opening the door more tricky but it was not something he couldn't handle smoothly. Jellal gathered his magic at his hand and let it flow around the lock. The magic used for unlocking doors and such wasn't something difficult to master. But to limit the chances of it being abused by people with bad intentions to get into whatever premises they wanted to, the Magic Council has restricted its' teaching and learning to selected groups of people such as locksmiths. Of course, there were always people who were able to learn it through some unorthodox ways. He, however, had gotten the privilege to add it to his list of magics used when he was in the Magic Council. It eventually became a pretty handy silk for him in doing investigations on dark guilds.
A small sound of "pop" from the lock broke the silence between them, and nothing happened except that the door had been unlocked without any damage.
"You are skillful at this." Erza said, not looking surprised but mildly impressed.
"I have had a lot of chances for practicing this." One hand opening the door, Jellal took Erza's hand in his free one and led her into the dormitory.
The inside wasn't particularly warmer than the outside since the heater wasn't on. But at least there was no more snow.
"Third floor? If I remember correctly."
"Yes."
"Will you show the way?"
Erza glanced between Jellal and the stair leading to the upper floors, then between Jellal and the couch in the common room. If she preferred him to stay in the common room while she went to change into her own clothes, Jellal could understand and would have no problem with it. But Erza nodded yes in the end.
Jellal intertwined his fingers with Erza's as they walked up the stair to her room.
He knew that she had several rooms for accommodating her armors but seeing the rooms and her collection was still eye-opening. The room which served as her actual living space was at the very end of the corridor. It was like a studio where there was no separation between living room and bedroom, but equipped with a kitchenette and a bathroom.
Jellal followed Erza's lead to sit on the two-seat couch with her.
"Thank you for carrying me home."
"I think it's a privilege for me to do it. So thank you too." Jellal grinned, which only made Erza blushed more. "You should go to take a hot shower now, before going to sleep. And if you have milk, I can warm up a glass for you while you are showering."
"I have several cartons of milk in the fridge." Erza gave him a thankful smile, before sending him a wishful look instead. "Will you…...stay for the night?"
Jellal tilted his head and eyed Erza uncertainly. He wanted to stay with her. After all he did rush back to Magnolia in order to spend Christmas with her. "But I think male visitors are not allowed to sleep over at Fairy Hills?"
"There is always exception. It's too late for you to go back to your home, especially when it's snowing outside. My friends will understand."
"I'll stay." He answered firmly.
Erza smiled in relief. "I'll go to shower now."
Jellal found the milk and also a box of strawberry flavoured tea bags from the kitchen cabinet. He boiled some water for making tea for himself, before warming up the milk for Erza as promised while waiting for her.
When Erza came out from the bathroom, she was in her purple Heart Kreuz pajamas. Jellal also noticed that she didn't have his coat in her hands, and wondered for a brief moment if she had left it in the bathroom. But when she sat down beside him again, he didn't raise his question and simply passed the glass of warm milk to her.
"Thank you." Erza took the glass from Jellal with both hands.
Instead of giving out the smell of alcohol, she now smelled of vanilla to Jellal.
After taking a few sips of the milk, Erza put down the glass and looked at Jellal with concern. "Would you like to take a shower? I think you need one too."
Although he didn't have any clothes for change, Jellal did want to clear himself up after a whole day of travelling. "Yes, if you don't mind me borrowing your bathroom."
"I don't. But wait." Erza got up and went to her closet and reached down for the drawer at the bottom. When she returned, she had a light blue pullover in her hands.
"You can change into this." She handed out the pullover to Jellal and blushed deeply as she made eye contact with him. "I knitted it, with Juvia's help. Merry Christmas."
"That's...wow. " Jellal accepted his gift with amazement and unfold it to have a better look. It looked a bit too big for his size and the long sleeves looked like they were in different length. But everything Erza did for him was perfect in his eyes. "Thanks a lot."
"I'm sorry. I have never done knitting before and this may look ugly…"
"No. No." Jellal quickly interjected Erza. "This looks good. I love this gift. Thank you, Erza." He grinned brightly at her, then put down the pullover on his legs and reached into his pants' pocket. "Actually, I have prepared a gift for you too."
His hand came out with a small rectangular box that was the size of a name card and he placed it on Erza's palm. "Here. Open it."
Erza nodded and opened the box with slightly shaking hand. Inside the box lied a pair of earrings. They were made of light purple crystal and in the shape of waterdrop.
"Bosco's well known for the crystal they produced. I hope you like this."
Erza gave Jellal her answer not by words but by giving him a peck at the corner of his lips. When she pulled away, Jellal gazed into her eyes intensely while she looked at him bashfully but also expectantly.
"I love this. This is beautiful. Thank you."
"I'm happy that I've picked something you love." Jellal said lowly and slowly leaned towards Erza. "Merry Christmas."
Erza closed her eyes, and Jellal gently pressed his lips on hers. Jellal held Erza's cheek in his hand and she grabbed at his waist, as they moved their lips along each other in an unhurried but no uncertain manner.
Erza was the one between the two to pull away from the kiss first. She rested her forehead against Jellal's as they both breathed deeply to fill their lungs with air and smiled contently.
"Help me to put on the earrings?" Erza asked sweetly. "I want you to be the first one to see me wearing them."
And so Jellal did as per her request. When the task was done, he drew back to inspect the result.
"You are beautiful." He looked at her in the way of appreciating a masterpiece of art. "And the earrings look extra good on you.
"Thanks." Erza's hands came up to cup her cheeks as Jellal's compliments deepened the color on her face. "And the pullover...will you…"
"I'll be right back." Jellal told Erza before kissing her one more time on the lips, and got up. "Don't forget to finish the milk." He reminded her before heading to the bathroom.
Washing away the fatigue, the cold and the dirt with hot water after a long day was something extremely satisfying to do. Jellal would have loved to spent more time in the shower if he wasn't so eager to get back to Erza's side.
Erza had already gotten into her bed when he came out from the bathroom fresh and clean and in the pullover she knitted for him. The room felt much warmer than before Jellal took the shower, probably because Erza had turned on the heater. She raised herself up from the mattress to watch him as he approached her, and slowly drew her brows together.
"What's the matter?" Jellal smiled and asked as he sat down at the edge of the bed at Erza's side.
"It doesn't fit."
"I don't mind. I love this gift you handmade for me, Erza. It's perfect."
"It's not. You are so biased." She pouted in her adorable way again.
"I'm." Jellal chuckled. Holding out a hand to caress Erza's face, he looked at her tenderly and fondly. "I love you. I love your imperfections as much as I love your perfections."
There was a moment of silence as Erza stared back at him with equal fondness and immense gratefulness as if she might cry in joy any moment.
"I love you, too." She learned forward to close the distance between their lips, before wrapping her arms around Jellal's neck to pull him down with her as she laid back down on the mattress.
Jellal slipped a hand to the back of Erza's neck and ran the other hand along her side. Feeling Erza's body beneath his, he kissed her slightly more aggressively than before, sucking lightly on her lips and nibbling at them. When tasting her lips didn't feel enough anymore, he traced her teeth with the tip of his tongue, until she granted him entrance to let him slide his tongue into her mouth to dance with hers. She unlocked her arms around his neck. Her hands slid down from his shoulders to his chest and lower, until they were able to slip under his pullover and to go to the small of his back to caress his bare skin just right above his pant's waistband.
Jellal drew back when both the screams for air from his lungs and the tightness in his pants became too difficult to ignore.
"I think…...it's time for us to sleep to get some rest for real." Jellal suggested awkwardly between pants. He didn't want to advance things between them when Erza might still be under the influence of alcohol. That was unfair to her. There surely would be another time, a better time, for them to go intimate.
At first Erza looked like she was confused by and a little disappointed at how things going between them were being abruptly stopped by him. But she seemed to be able to understand that he was making such a decision for her sake when staring into his eyes, and nodded her agreement.
"Then you should get under the blanket too."
Jellal got off from Erza and moved to her side before slipping under the blanket. Erza turned to lay on her side to face him and slung an arm over his waist. Inching his body toward hers, Jellal encircled Erza around the shoulder with his arm and weaved his fingers through her scarlet tresses. Their legs were touching each other without entangling.
"Thanks for staying. Thanks for everything you did for me tonight, Jellal." Erza spoke gently. "I'm truly happy that you are here with me for the festival."
"Your happiness is my happiness." Jellal's smile was the purest and the most earnest. "And I look forward to spending tomorrow with you."
"It's going to be better than tonight."
"It'll. For now, rest well." Jellal placed a long kiss on Erza's forehead. "Good night, Erza. And sweet dreams"
"Good night, Jellal. Sweet dreams."