Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does.

Starlight

Erza got up from her bed after spending over two hours in it, trying to fall asleep but failed.

She went to the kitchen to get herself a glass of milk. While drinking the white liquid sip by sip, she looked out from the window and saw numerous stars scattered across the boundless dark blue sky. The view reminded her another sleepless night when she was still in the Tower of Heaven.

She was wiped in the daytime because she failed to complete the tasks assigned to her timely, which gave her several wounds on her legs and arms. The physical pain she felt from her injured skin and muscles had prevented her from falling into sleep. She only allowed herself to sob quietly because she didn't want to wake up others. But Jellal heard her and found out what happened to her. To distract her from the pain, he guided her to look at the stars through that one little window opened up at the ceiling of their cell and started telling her stories about stars. Stars were the first smile of new born babies, spirits of ancestors and jewelry wore by goddesses…she finally fell asleep while listening to these stories told by his comforting voice.

But as a grown-up now, she knew that stars were not smile, spirits or jewelry but only one kind of celestial objects in the universe.

And some of the stars she was now seeing in the sky even not existed in this present time she was now living in. These stars had died at a time unknown to her and what she saw twinkling now, were only their light shined from the time when they still existed but just reached the earth after long time of traveling in the universe.

She was always curious about which stars were giving her a glimpse of the past when appreciating the beauty of the starry night. But sometimes, like now when she was not in a good mood, she would be simply thinking worriedly that might be the love she felt from Jellal was similar to the light shined from those deceased stars, which was only a sight from their past but not something existed in the present.

She loved Jellal as a child back then and as an adult now. She could tell that he loved her the same way when he tried to kiss her which was just prevented by his own guilt. She could still feel his concern for her during the Grand Magic Game, and she knew how much he worried about her safety in the war against the dragons that he was seriously injured from protecting her.

However, Jellal distanced himself from her again after the war ended and being freed from the Magic Council. He rejected her invitation to join Fairy Tail's party although finally forced to present by Ultear. He only talked to her when her guild mates were around her although everyone was smart to retreat from their surrounding soon enough. He refused to tell her where Crime Sorcière was heading to although Meredy gave her a note of hint secretly.

The way he came close to her but then kept her at arm's length again really confused her. She was no longer sure whether the affections he showed her before were real or faked.

Did he think that he still loved her at the beginning of their reunion but then realized that he held no more feelings towards her after having more contact with her? So he decided to stay away from her from now on?

Or, was it simply that he didn't love her anymore in the first place but took it as a compensation for his wrong doings in the past to stand by her side when she was in danger? So he had no will to keep their relation in the time of peace?

She hated to guess the true reason of Jellal's unexplained change in attitude in these ways, for it hurt her to think that his love for her had died away.

The only thing that kept her hope on their relation was that Jellal hadn't rejected her openly, yet, even though he was trying to stay away from her. But of course, it was also possible that he didn't want to embarrass her and therefore decided to tell her his true feelings only if she asked.

And she was suspicious that, although being well-known as the fearless Titania, she could gather the courage to find out the truth from Jellal's mouth. It might be painful to live in uncertainty, but it would be more painful for her to loss his love in her life. She would rather hold on to the illusion of love projected from their past until he took the initiative to reveal the truth to her.

Erza felt a bit dizzy thinking too hard about Jellal, and a wave of tiredness was slowly climbing up her body. Putting down the empty glass, she returned to her bed and after a few moments, fell asleep.

.

.

.

Far away from Fairy Hills at the south of the country, Jellal was sitting at the balcony of the little house at which Crime Sorcière settled down as their first headquarters. Looking up to the starry sky which he always loved how striking yet mysterious it looked, an old memory of him telling Erza stories of stars suddenly popped up in his mind. He smiled bitterly thinking how pure their relation used to be but how complicated it was now.

Jellal was missing Erza, but he could not see her, not now at least.

He had re-considered his future after nearly losing his life when fighting against the dragons along with Erza. He was still determined to spend his remaining lifetime to atone for his sins, but he also came to think that might be he could just give himself one chance to search for happiness.

He therefore set himself a target. If he could make it within 3 years that was before he would turn 30, he would confess to Erza asking her to be the woman in his life. He swore to concentrate all his time and effort in reaching the target that he would not allow himself to be distracted by any other thing, even Erza. No doubt that he was giving himself a hard time, but it was a serious self-test which he must pass to prove to his own self that he did deserve Erza's love.

He figured that it was better not to tell Erza about his plan because he didn't want to give her false hope or prevent her from finding a better man. He was also well aware of the possibility of Erza rejecting him even if he confessed to her finally.

But starring at the twinkling stars, Jellal secretly wished that the love between he and Erza would be as long lasting as the light shined from the brightest star in the sky, that although it was born from a long lost past, it could continue to shine in a future with many years to come.