Author's Note: I'm thinking maybe two or three more chapters at most.
December was Erza's favorite month. Ever since she'd been a little girl running around in the snow with one glove on – the other forgotten in her pocket – and a bedraggled braid, the magic of the winter season hadn't ever failed to enchant her. There was something about the way the snow piled on windowsills and the stark clash of green holly leaves and pure, white snow that lifted her heart.
Jellal had taken to napping upstairs in her apartment near the wood stove during the afternoon. In the evenings, he'd curl up in her lap and purr loudly. Unfortunately, Erza wasn't any closer to solving her boyfriend-turned-cat problem. The winter solstice was one of her busiest times of the year – shortbread, braids, wreaths, and cookies disappeared from her racks almost as fast as she could fill them. By the time she closed her doors every night, her feet and back ached fiercely. Adding to her guilt, Jellal didn't appear to be agitated by her lack of progress. He only nuzzled her chin with his head whenever she felt particularly useless.
Meredy would bring in newspapers and regale Erza with tales of war. The tides were turning, the headlines proclaimed. According to her father, soldiers would begin to return home by the next summer. Erza felt the weight of that deadline. She didn't want to think about what would happen if she couldn't fix him by then.
Besides all that, she had another problem in the form of Simon. He'd been discharged from the military with a gunshot wound. According to his proud mother, he'd suffered the injury heroically. According to his unimpressed sister, however, he probably shot himself in the leg accidentally. He'd always been an awkward boy and Erza didn't see Kagura's theory as at all implausible. Simon's return in and of itself wasn't a problem, it was his lingering infatuation with Erza that complicated things.
Simon would pop into Rosemary's Bakery at least three times a week, sometimes four. He didn't always make purchases – his flirtatious intentions were completely transparent – but his mother was a loyal customer and Erza didn't want to lose her business. Jellal's reaction to Erza's frequent patron was an entirely different story.
"You're absolutely glowing today, Erza." Simon said as he leaned over the counter. Erza deposited the yeast rolls into the display basket with more carelessness than they deserved.
"It's just sweat," she muttered. "I've been in the kitchen since before sunrise."
"You should take a break." Erza spun around to face him and tucked a loose strand of red hair behind one ear.
"And who would run my shop?" she asked as politely as possible.
"You could leave that tomcat of yours in charge." Simon glanced at the shelves of cake boxes and bags. "He stalks around like he owns the place."
"I don't know," Erza said grinning at the cat. "I feel like the lack of opposable thumbs might hinder his job performance." Jellal's ear twitched.
"I didn't even know you liked cats."
"This one's special, I guess." The blue-grey cat leapt from the shelf to the edge of the counter. Erza cleared her throat and turned back toward the kitchen. "I need to get back to work."
Jellal's fierce green gaze didn't deviate from Simon until the bells above the door jingled. Once he'd gone, the cat pranced back into the kitchen and perched on a stool. Erza felt his eyes on her and sighed.
"Let it go, Jellal," she muttered.
"Erza!" Simon's voice stood out from the typical Saturday market din of chatter. "I was hoping I'd see you here."
"Well, you've found me," she said halfheartedly. "I'm just picking up some last minute things for dinner tomorrow."
"Oh? The holiday isn't for another week."
"Uh," Erza floundered. She didn't want to give him any details surrounding the only time she'd have with Jellal before the holiday. "It's just a private – uh, personal dinner. I'll be spending the actual holiday with Meredy Fernandes and her father."
Simon's smile faded. "So you're still holding out hope, huh? Has there been word? What unit did you say he was in again?"
"I forget," Erza ventured casually. "It doesn't matter. He'll come back."
"Erza –" A loud yowling from a crate of bagged pecans objected to whatever Simon was about to say. Erza laughed softly and reached out to press her thumb to the cat's forehead. "Geez, that cat really needs a hobby. Doesn't he give you any space at all?"
Erza grinned, shifted her shopping bags to the crook of her arm, and took her jealous boyfriend into her arms and kissed the tip of one of his velvet ears.
"I don't mind that he follows me everywhere," she said more to Jellal than Simon. "He keeps me company."
"You don't have to be alone, you know," Simon offered in a low voice. Erza sighed when Jellal's tail coiled around her wrist.
"I won't be alone forever, Simon. Jellal will come back. Love always finds a way back." She finally waved him off and wormed her way through the crowd as quickly as possible. Jellal's paws settled on her shoulder and he seemed to be pacified by the brisk air fluttering her hair behind her.
Jellal's fingers slid through her hair and Erza thought maybe if she were a cat, she'd be purring. She twisted around and hid her face in the column of his neck. He smelled of bath soap and pine needles. Without warning, tears prickled in her eyes and dripped onto the shoulder of his sweater.
"Why are you crying?" he asked quietly. Erza sniffled and watched him wiggle his toes in the heat radiating from the wood stove.
"I just feel so useless. I come from a long line of witches and can't manage to figure out this one thing!"
He laughed softly and squeezed her shoulder. "You can't feel useless on Christmas."
"But –"
"I know it's not exactly Christmas yet," Jellal murmured into her hair. "But it may as well be. I said I have faith in you, Erza, and I do. I trust you, I believe in you –" He kissed her temple gently. "And I love you."
"What if I just didn't go to sleep? Would you still turn back into a cat?"
"I would, and you can't just go without sleep." Jellal's eyebrow quirked upwards when Erza suddenly shifted on the couch and faced him with wide eyes.
"What if this is all we ever have, Jellal?" she whispered. "What if –"
"I refuse to believe that," he said firmly. "There's got to be a way around the spell." Jellal's eyes dropped to her hair. His lips fell into a slight frown as he curled the strands around his fingers. "It's just a matter of finding the right bargain."
"Bargain?"
"Well..." he trailed off and focused on the band of red. "I changed into a cat form because your spell was meant to keep me from the war front and, to be completely fair, you accomplished that. The price was my human body every night except on a full moon. What if my change isn't your trade to make?"
"I don't know what you mean." Erza's head tilted to the side in confusion. Jellal stared hard at the curl of hair still wrapped around his finger before finally snapping himself out of his thoughts.
"Sorry, I got lost for a moment. Anyway, I just meant that if magic is based on a system of trades, there has to be a way to alter my current situation. It's probably just not quite the way you think."
"You're so much better with free thought than I am, Jellal. I keep asking myself what my grandmother would do and it's become more and more clear she wouldn't have messed with the order of the universe to begin with."
"Your intentions came from a good place, love. Unfortunately –"
"Intention doesn't always equal result," she muttered. Erza sighed and took his hand from her hair. Jellal smiled at her and it warmed her soul. "We do have tonight, though."
"Yes, we do." His eyes fell to her mouth when she leaned over him and planted her knees on either side of his hips. She kissed him and pushed all thoughts of waking up alone out of her head.
The letter didn't come through ordinary mail. If it had, Erza would've been extremely suspicious. Eileen never used the post.
A cardinal fluttered through the open window in a gust of air that smelled strongly of dahlia blossoms. Erza's eyes widened in surprise as she watched the shape of the bird fizzle when the folded note landed at Jellal's pawed feet. The edges of the note were all folded inward and sealed with a dollop of blood red wax. Eileen had always loved dramatics.
Jellal poked at the folded paper with one paw curiously. Erza gathered him in her arms and snatched up the note. She settled into her chair, peeled off the wax, and stroked Jellal's ears as her eyes scanned the letter.
"Looks like we'll have company for the new year," she muttered as Jellal sniffed the edge of the paper. "My sister is coming to town."